ICE admits it mistakenly deported 29-year-old man to Guatemala and is trying to bring him back to the U.S. to continue his asylum process
An asylum seeker who was mistakenly deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to Guatemala will be allowed to return to the United States.
César MarroquÃn was removed from the ICE River Correctional Center in Ferriday, Louisiana, on August 19, the same day he was scheduled to appear before an immigration judge.
The 29-year-old's surprising expulsion was enforced by the agency despite no deportation order on record. His removal came five days after ICE officials at the River Correctional Center in Ferriday, Louisiana, informed him that he had tested positive for the COVID-19, according to Telemundo.
MarroquÃn, who was part of a large group of Guatemalans who were placed on an airplane and expelled from the U.S., underwent three coronavirus exams upon arriving in Guatemala and none showed that he had been infected with the ravaging bug.
'They told me that if I didn't get on the plane that they would press charges,' he said. 'There was a mistake with me in the system.'
César MarroquÃn was mistakenly deported August 19 from the United States to Guatemala. The 29-year-old abandoned his home several months ago after he had been kidnapped and beaten after failing to work with a rival political group. He crossed the Mexico-United States border and turned himself in to U.S. Border Patrol agents and filed for asylum
Bryan D. Cox, the spokesman for ICE's Southern Region, acknowledged the mistake that took place behind MarroquÃn sudden deportation, indicating that he would be eligible to continue his petition for asylum on U.S. soil.
'U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed Guatemalan national César MarroquÃn-Rivera from the U.S. to Guatemala August 19. The removal occurred due to an administrative error while MarroquÃn-Rivera remained in proceedings before the federal immigration courts. His immigration proceedings were terminated Sept. 30,' Cox wrote.
'Such errors are exceedingly rare, and, in general, an alien removed to their home country without a final order can apply for admission to the U.S.'
ICE acknowledged the 'administrative' error it made in deporting César MarroquÃn to Guatemala and said he will be welcomed to returning to the United States to continue his asylum petition
César MarroquÃn said he was deported five days after ICE officials at a detention facility in Louisiana told him he had tested positive for the coronavirus. But three tests administered in Guatemala proved otherwise
NBC News reported that MarroquÃn fled his home in Guatemala due to differences with a political rival group.
MarroquÃn refused to work alongside the opposition group and had his home invaded. His decision to escape from the Central American country came after he was abducted and beaten before he was freed by his kidnappers and abandoned on a road.
He eventually made his way through Mexico and unlawfully entered the U.S. by crossing a river at the border in Falfurrias, Texas. He hitched a ride and then turned himself into U.S. Border Patrol agents.
On August 19, MarroquÃn, who as awaiting to meet with his lawyer and an immigration judge, learned through an automate call line that he had another hearing with a judge set for September 6.
Later that day, ICE agents took MarroquÃn to an airport in Alexandria, Louisiana, and flown to Guatemala.
'There have seen quite a few cases of people being deported by mistake. I had never seen one like this where they were deported even before their first hearing,' said Marty Rosenbluth, MarroquÃn's lawyer.