U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Trump administration violated two separate court orders in its attempts to deport a single detainee, Nelson Ariel Umanzor Chavez, sending him to two different countries — each time in contravention of active judicial protections. The case adds to a series of federal court disputes over the administration's compliance with judicial removal protections, an issue that has drawn increasing scrutiny from federal judges overseeing immigration enforcement.

Umanzor Chavez was first deported to Mexico on November 13, 2025, despite a court order prohibiting his removal to that country. According to court documents flagged by Politico's Kyle Cheney on X, the court was informed of the removal by Petitioner's counsel on November 14, 2025. A hearing was held the same day, in which Respondents' counsel confirmed that the Petitioner had been "mistakenly removed to Mexico" and that efforts were underway to facilitate his return to the United States.

However, Umanzor Chavez was subsequently deported to El Salvador in January 2026, in direct violation of an immigration judge's order granting him withholding of removal to that country based on court-ordered torture protection. Withholding of removal is a form of relief that bars the government from deporting an individual to a country where they are likely to face persecution or torture; it is distinct from asylum and generally carries stronger legal protections against removal.

"In January 2026, Respondents removed Petitioner to El Salvador, in violation of the immigration's judge's order granting Petitioner withholding of removal to that country," the court document states. "In May, Petitioner informed the Court that Salvadoran authorities had immediately imprisoned him upon his arrival in El Salvador ... Salvadoran authorities have transferred Petitioner between prisons and his family has not been provided information regarding his current location, his condition, or whether he is alive."

The document further noted that Umanzor Chavez "has spoken with his wife only once" since being sent to El Salvador, and that "his family has hired two Salvadoran attorneys to locate [him], but so far to no avail."

The case echoes the controversy surrounding Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was sent to El Salvador's CECOT megaprison in violation of court orders, a case that dominated national attention last year and sparked months of debate before his eventual return. The CECOT facility, officially known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, is the largest prison in Latin America and has been central to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's security crackdown. Together, the cases have intensified legal and political questions about ICE's adherence to court-ordered protections and the consequences for detainees when such orders are breached.