A federal judge has ordered the US government to return a Nicaraguan man deported to the Central African Republic to Minnesota, after finding that immigration authorities likely breached his due-process rights.
Kenis Lopez Gonzalez, who had been living in Shakopee, was detained during a large-scale immigration enforcement operation in January and sent to the African nation in August, despite an earlier ruling that prevented his removal to Nicaragua because of fears he could be tortured there.
Judge orders Kenis Lopez Gonzalez’s return
US District Judge Jeffrey M Bryan directed the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take all reasonable steps within their control to bring Mr Lopez Gonzalez back to Minnesota as soon as practicable.
The government must pay for the journey. The judge also ordered that Mr Lopez Gonzalez must not be removed from Minnesota while his case continues.
The ruling was issued as a preliminary injunction and does not settle the wider question of whether the US can deport people to countries other than their own. The US Supreme Court is due to consider that issue in December.
Mr Lopez Gonzalez entered the United States through the southern border in 2022 and was permitted to remain while pursuing an immigration case. He later moved to Shakopee, where he worked in construction.
In 2024, an immigration judge ordered him deported but withheld enforcement of that decision because of concerns about what might happen if he were returned to Nicaragua. He was released under supervision instead.
Federal agents detained him in January during Operation Metro Surge, moved him through detention facilities in the United States and ultimately deported him to the Central African Republic, a country with which he had no known connection.
Court records cited in the case said Mr Lopez Gonzalez was being held in Bangui and feared leaving the facility because of the security situation. The US State Department advises Americans not to travel to the Central African Republic because of crime, unrest and terrorism.
The judge found that Mr Lopez Gonzalez was likely to succeed in arguing that his supervised release had been revoked without the procedure required by immigration rules. The court also concluded that he faced a risk of serious and irreparable harm if he remained in the country.
His lawyer, Courtney Moran, has alleged that federal agents fired rubber bullets at him during his removal. Photographs showing injuries were included in court filings, although the allegations have not been independently established.
Homeland Security officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The order does not determine Mr Lopez Gonzalez’s final immigration status, but requires the government to begin the process of bringing him back to Minnesota while the legal proceedings continue.
