Federal judge orders return of deported migrant to US, rejecting Trump request

A federal judge on Tuesday refused to change her order requiring the Trump administration to bring back a 20-year-old Venezuelan asylum seeker deported to El Salvador, citing due process protections.

At a hearing Tuesday in Baltimore, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, a Trump appointee, rejected the government's request to amend her earlier ruling which ordered the government to return Daniel Lozano-Camargo, a 20-year-old Venezuelan, to U.S. soil.

But she also agreed to pause the ruling for 48 hours – enough time for the government to ask the 4th Circuit to take up the case.

If the court declines, Gallagher said she will amend her ruling to set a formal timeline for the government to return the 20-year-old migrant to the U.S.

IDENTITY OF SECOND DEPORTED MAN WHO JUDGE WANTS RETURNED TO US REVEALED AS TRUMP ADMIN FIGHTS ORDER

This decision "strikes the right balance between giving the government the ability" to appeal to the higher court as they see fit – and also allows plaintiffs to seek due process in U.S. courts, Gallagher said.

Lozano-Camargo, previously referred to in court documents as "Cristian," was deported to El Salvador in March under the Trump administration's early wave of Alien Enemies Act deportations.

Gallagher ruled in April that the government violated a 2024 settlement between DHS and a group of young asylum seekers, including Lozano-Camargo. Under that deal, DHS agreed not to deport the migrants – all of whom entered the U.S. as unaccompanied children – until their cases were fully heard in court.

Last month, Gallagher said Lozano-Camargo’s deportation was a "breach of contract," since his asylum case had not yet been heard, and ordered the U.S. government to facilitate his release.

Gallagher reiterated her previous decision on Tuesday. She also emphasized it has nothing to do with the strength of his asylum request, in a nod to two apparent low-level drug offenses and a conviction as recently as January. Rather, she said, it is about allowing him the process under the law, and under the settlement struck with DHS.

That settlement agreement "requires him to be here and have his hearing," she said.

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Gallagher noted that his removal without adjudication in a U.S. court "pre-judges the outcome," with no ability for his attorneys to challenge the case in court. 

The Trump administration told the court that it had determined that Lozano-Camargo was eligible for removal under the Alien Enemies Act, citing his earlier arrest and conviction for cocaine possession in Houston this year. 

On Monday, lawyers for the administration told the court that his designation as an "alien enemy pursuant to the AEA results in him ceasing to be a member" of the class that had negotiated a settlement.

At the status hearing Tuesday, Gallagher made clear her decision was based solely on due process protections. 

The government is "measuring utility using the wrong yardstick" in this case, she said, adding that it is not a case of whether Lozano-Camargo will eventually receive asylum – it’s a question of process.

Process, she said, is important for various reasons – noting that even when outcomes in certain criminal cases or trials seem obvious, individuals are still entitled to a trial under U.S. law. 

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"We don’t skip to the end and say, ‘We all know how this is going to end so we’ll just skip that part,'" she said. 

The administration's appeal to the 4th Circuit, should it choose to file it, is due by Thursday afternoon.

SCOOP: Trump ally's Gulf of America bill sparks frustration in House GOP

FIRST ON FOX: A scheduled vote on making President Donald Trump’s Gulf of America name change permanent is causing some heartburn within the House GOP conference.

Multiple House Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital said they were frustrated by House GOP leaders’ decision to spend time voting on what they saw as a largely symbolic gesture in an otherwise light legislative week. It comes as GOP negotiators work behind the scenes to iron out divisions on Medicaid, tax policy, and green energy subsidies in time to pass Trump’s "big, beautiful bill" by the Fourth of July.

"This is a time where we should be in our districts, going to graduations, making sure that we're listening to folks who have tariff issues," a more moderate GOP lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital. 

"Instead, we’re going to spend time doing this…it's frustrating for somebody who's got a lot of pragmatic legislation, waiting in the queue to be heard. Instead, we're doing posture bills. It’s not what I came here to do."

SCOOP: REPUBLICANS DISCUSS DEFUNDING 'BIG ABORTION' LIKE PLANNED PARENTHOOD IN TRUMP AGENDA BILL

But the frustration is not limited to moderate and mainstream Republicans. One conservative GOP lawmaker vented to Fox News Digital, "125 other [executive orders], this is the one we pick."

"Folks are upset that we're not doing something more important," the conservative lawmaker said.

Two sources familiar with House Republicans’ whip team meeting said at least three GOP lawmakers aired concerns about the bill — Reps. Don Bacon, R-Neb., Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., and Glenn Grothman, R-Wis.

One of the sources described their sentiments as, "They just think it’s kind of frivolous or not serious."

"I’ve heard criticisms from all corners of the conference. Conservatives to pragmatic ones," Bacon told Fox News Digital. "It seems sophomoric. The United States is bigger and better than this."

Bacon is among the Republicans pushing hard for a restrained hand on Medicaid cuts in Trump's multi-trillion-dollar bill, while other GOP lawmakers are pushing for more significant cuts.

Grothman would not confirm or deny his concerns, telling Fox News Digital, "That’s behind-the-scenes stuff."

Obernolte’s office did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

While the concerns have not come from a large number of the overall conference, any degree of defections is significant with the GOP’s razor-thin House majority.

With all lawmakers present in the chamber, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can currently lose up to three votes to still pass something along party lines.

It’s also a sign of Trump’s continued dominance on Capitol Hill starting to wear on some Republican lawmakers.

It’s not clear that the lawmakers who expressed concerns will vote against the final bill, however, particularly with pressure from House GOP leaders.

A third House Republican who spoke with Fox News Digital anonymously acknowledged the frustrations, but nevertheless said, "It’s not the hill to die on."

It's worth noting that congressional Republicans have passed several bills promoting Trump's agenda already, including resolutions to roll back key Biden administration policies.

Their main efforts in budget reconciliation, Trump's "big, beautiful bill," is GOP negotiators' current priority.

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The Gulf of America Act was introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a top Trump ally. 

When reached for comment on some GOP lawmakers' concerns, Greene told Fox News Digital, "Codifying the rightful renaming of the Gulf of America isn’t just a priority for me and President Trump, it’s a priority for the American people. American taxpayers fund its protection, our military defends its waters, and American businesses fuel its economy. My bill advances President Trump’s America First agenda."

"If certain moderate Republicans want to start elsewhere, where do they suggest?" she continued. "I have bills ready for all of it. But let’s be clear, we should be voting to codify every single executive order President Trump issues."

The bill is currently slated to get a vote on Thursday morning, and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., promoted it during his House GOP leadership press conference on Tuesday.

"We're going to pass Marjorie Taylor Greene's bill to permanently rename the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America. And then we're going to codify dozens more of President Trump's budget-related executive orders, spending-related executive orders through the budget reconciliation process," Johnson said.

Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., posted on X in response to the speaker, "This will be a tremendous economic driver for my district. Families across the country will flock to the Florida Panhandle to be the FIRST to enjoy the Gulf of AMERICA!"

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

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