A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration must return a gay man who was wrongly deported to a country where he previously suffered brutal violence, including r-pe and kidnapping.
The individual, identified in court as O.C.G., had fled Guatemala and Mexico after being subjected to multiple anti-LGBTQ+ attacks. He came to the U.S. in 2023 seeking safety. Despite having no criminal history and receiving protection from deportation by an immigration judge, U.S. officials still expelled him without warning.
According to The Guardian, O.C.G. was removed and sent to Mexico where he had already experienced horrific abuse while waiting to enter the U.S. in April 2024. That decision was shocking particularly because the deportation ignored prior legal protections in place for him.
This story is appalling.
A man fled Guatemala & sought asylum in the U.S. *legally.* He says he was raped while passing through Mexico. A judge granted him withholding of removal—finding he’d likely be persecuted if deported.
The Trump admin deported him anyway. https://t.co/KqZBuVs4x4
— Billy Binion (@billybinion) May 28, 2025
U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy, appointed by former President Biden, issued a strong rebuke in his May 23 ruling. He reminded the court that O.C.G. had repeatedly voiced fears of returning to Mexico during earlier immigration proceedings and submitted evidence that he had been r-ped and held for ransom there.
Murphy wrote, “No one has ever suggested that OCG poses any sort of security threat,” mentioning that the man had a clean record and that there were no exceptional factors justifying such a drastic measure.
Despite pleading his case, immigration authorities placed O.C.G. on a bus and removed him from the U.S., violating not only prior protections but also the court’s own protocols. Just one week earlier, Judge Murphy had ruled against similar deportation tactics, stating that individuals must be given adequate notice and the chance to object before being sent to countries not their own.
Federal Judge Brian E. Murphy ordered the Trump regime to facilitate the return of a Guatemalan man who had been deported to Mexico.
O.C.G. is known only by his initials. He is a gay and told the authorities in the USA he feared the violence he had experienced in Mexico where… pic.twitter.com/oHGXGsEvel
— Feisty is proud to be a Democrat! (@FeistyLibLady) May 24, 2025
Now back in Guatemala, O.C.G. is living in hiding and fear. In a statement filed with the court and cited by The Advocate, he said he rarely leaves the house and relies on family members for essentials.
“I feel fear and the danger anytime I go out. For me, it’s not easy. The people who targeted me before know who I am and they have shown me twice before what they’re capable of. I don’t want to get attacked a third time,” he wrote. “I can’t be gay here, which means I cannot be myself. I cannot express myself and I am not free.”
While the judge’s order mandates the government to bring him back, the case has reignited concerns over how the Trump administration’s immigration policy continues to handle vulnerable immigrants seeking refugee, especially those from marginalized communities.
