A significant amount of media attention has been focused on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal alien and alleged domestic abuser who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.

However, another migrant made headlines this week after a federal judge ordered that his removal be reversed. 

Judge weighs in

According to Breitbart, the case concerns a 20-year-old Venezuelan individual who has been identified in court papers as "Cristian."

The man originally came to the United States as an unaccompanied minor and subsequently applied for asylum in December of 2022 but was deported in March despite his claim still being unresolved.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher ruled that Cristian was protected by a 2024 class action settlement under which the government agreed not to deport those who arrived as unaccompanied minors until their asylum applications are adjudicated.

Gallagher instructed the Trump administration to facilitate Cristian's return before warning that "[s]tanding by and taking no action is not facilitation."

"In prior cases involving wrongfully removed individuals, courts have ordered, and the government has taken, affirmative steps toward facilitating return," she added.

Judge threatens contempt finding

Gallagher's words came less than two weeks after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg threatened to pursue contempt charges against members of the Trump administration.

As CBS News reported, the threat was leveled after Boasberg determined that officials had "deliberately flouted" his verbal order to return a plane load of alleged gang members who were already on their way to El Salvador.

The men in question are said to be members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang which President Donald Trump designated as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year.

Although the White House contends that foreign gang members can be swiftly removed under the Alien Enemies Act, the Supreme Court recently issued a temporary injunction blocking further deportations while the matter is being litigated.

Appeals court issues temporary halt

CBS News pointed out that Boasberg even suggested that he may hire a private attorney to prosecute the case in the event that the Department of Justice (DOJ) refuses to do so.

Yet Boasberg's warning was blunted after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an injunction to temporarily block contempt proceedings.

The Hill reported that Trump-appointed Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao said their order was only intended to provide the court with "sufficient opportunity" to consider the government's appeal.

That ruling was met with a dissent from Judge Cornelia Pillard, who was appointed to the D.C. Circuit by then President Barack Obama in 2013.