A U.S. federal judge in Baltimore, Stephanie Gallagher, has issued a ruling that could pave the way for contempt proceedings against the Trump administration for its alleged refusal to comply with a court order requiring the return of a Venezuelan migrant to the United States. The case centers on Cristian, a 20-year-old Venezuelan migrant who was initially deported to El Salvador’s CECOT maximum-security prison in March as part of a Trump-era immigration policy. However, the administration subsequently deported Cristian back to Venezuela as part of a prisoner swap with the country, prompting a legal challenge.
Gallagher, a Trump appointee, had previously ruled in April that the deportation of Cristian violated a 2024 settlement agreement between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and a group of young asylum seekers. The agreement, which was struck last year, outlined conditions for deporting asylum seekers, and the administration was ordered to return Cristian to the U.S. However, the recent deportation of Cristian back to Venezuela has raised serious legal and humanitarian concerns. Immigration advocates have expressed alarm over the administration’s decision, as it appears to have been part of a larger prisoner swap, which was confirmed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Gallagher stated that the situation had significantly shifted since her initial ruling in April. She acknowledged that the deportation of Cristian to Venezuela, rather than to the United States, had created a new legal posture for the court. The lawyers for Cristian argued that the administration’s actions were a blatant disregard of the court’s order and that the deportation was an intentional move to prevent Cristian from seeking asylum. Gallagher did not outright rule out the possibility of contempt proceedings, though she emphasized that the court would need to conduct an investigation into the administration’s conduct before proceeding.
The case has drawn parallels to the Abrego Garcia case, where a Salvadorian migrant was similarly wrongfully deported, and the legal team for Cristian argued that the Trump administration had taken