A federal judge temporarily blocked the deportation of eight asylum seekers on Thursday, but the measure was too late for a woman that her lawyers believe she has already been deported by the Trump administration.
Despite looking for asylum in the United States to escape a former violent couple, according to their legal team, the woman was sent back to Ecuador this week, only a few hours before a court blocked their deportation, where their lawyers fear that It could be killed.
“The plaintiff NS fled from Ecuador to escape the horrible violence and the kidnapping of his former partner, a police officer who called his anti-indigenous insults while raping her, hitting and holding her in the head, and fears that he would kill her if the It will kill if it will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her if the He will kill if he will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her if she will kill her is deleted, “they wrote their lawyers in a presentation before the court, and added that the woman was captive by her former partner.
Its rapid elimination occurs when immigrants’ defenders pose the concern that the Trump administration hastily deports migrants while ignoring their asylum claims and despite active litigation to stop their removals.
Migrants are loaded on a plane for a deportation flight, on January 23, 2025.
Robert Cano/Customs and border protection of the USA.
According to judicial records, the woman entered the United States around January 26 and requested asylum after surrendering immigration officials. But until Wednesday, judicial records show that he had not received an “credible fear” interview, one of the first steps to determine eligibility for asylum.
His lawyer Keren Zwick, director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center, said he did not contact the woman since Wednesday night before the judicial hearing and believes that he is on his way or back to Ecuador where His life is in danger.
“I am very worried about her well -being. She fled because she faces domestic violence, and fled a couple who threatened to kill her and kept her captive and went to look for her when she tried to escape,” Zwick said, “I feel safely, he will continue to do that and If he learns that she is back in the country, I think her life is in danger. “
During Thursday’s hearing, the lawyers of the Department of Justice told the court that one of those who seek asylum may have already been in deportation procedures, said Zwick.
Zwick said the National Security Department has not been willing to provide information about the state of its removal or intervene of its clients to stop deportation.
“Your agency is not being useful,” he said. “We have not been able to obtain clear information.”
DHS declined to comment or confirm if NS was deported to Ecuador.
A DOJ lawyer who represents the case did not respond to a request for comments.
ICE agents participate in an immigration application operation in Salt Lake City, UTAH, on February 13, 2025.
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As the Trump administration quickly scale deportation efforts, immigration defenders have criticized the administration for steam moving with little consideration for pending demands or attempts to claim asylum.
In a separate case last week, the Trump administration deported three men to Venezuela only one day after a court order blocked its transfer to Guantanamo Bay. In other legal cases, the Trump administration has been accused of intentionally violating judicial orders.
“If we live in a world where the United States government thinks it is fine to eliminate a person and asylum seekers … without giving them any opportunity to seek protection, that is just a complete subversion of our asylum,” Zwick said.
While Thursday’s court order arrived too late to avoid the alleged deportation, the lawyers of others seeking asylum will return to the Court next week to fight against their imminent removal to countries such as Afghanistan, Ecuador, Brazil and Egypt They say they fear that they are afraid to face persecution or violence.
ICE and HSI special agents participate in an immigration application operation in Massachusetts, February 19, 2025.
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The request to block deportation of the eight asylum seekers is linked to an ongoing lawsuit that ACLU and other groups submitted against the Trump administration earlier this month, challenging the invocation of the president of a section of the Immigration and Immigration Law Nationality to authorize the president. “Suspending the entry of all aliens” when their entrance “would be harmful to the interests of the United States.”
The eight asylum seekers who brought the case come from different countries of origin, but each fears the same result if they are eliminated from the United States.
According to the judicial records, two plaintiffs fled from Afghanistan due to the fears that the Taliban could persecute them for their support to the United States. A plaintiff said they suffered kidnapping, rape and torture by the hands of an Ecuadorian poster before fleeing to the United States. Another said they were imprisoned and tortured in Egypt due to their views in favor of democracy.
“There is no government or legitimate public interest in the illegal elimination of individual plaintiffs to countries where they face pursuit or torture,” the lawyers of asylum seekers argued.
