A federal judge in Washington has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to bring back a 20-year-old Raleigh man who was deported to Honduras earlier this spring, finding that the way he was removed likely trampled his right to due process. The case involves Jose Eliezer Martinez-Andino, a father with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status who had been living with family in Raleigh before immigration agents picked him up during a cross-country trip.
Judge: 'Removed from this country in a manner that boggles the mind'
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell did not hold back. In a sharply worded ruling, she wrote that Martinez-Andino was "removed from this country in a manner that boggles the mind" and ordered DHS to get him back and treat his case "as it would have been had he not been improperly sent" abroad. Howell also directed officials to file status reports every 48 hours until he is returned, according to The News & Observer.
How he was detained and deported
According to his lawyers, Martinez-Andino was taken into custody on March 18 while driving through Montana, then shuttled between several detention facilities. They say he was blocked from contacting his attorneys for more than 10 days and pushed to sign voluntary departure paperwork. Martinez-Andino told WUNC that he signed the forms "out of fear" after being warned he would face a long prison sentence if he refused.
DHS's response
DHS is telling a very different story. A department spokesperson told ABC News that Martinez-Andino "entered the country illegally on an unknown date through Mexico" and that he "departed the country on April 13," insisting that claims he was denied access to an attorney are "FALSE." The agency also said Border Patrol first encountered him in September 2020 and released him at that time.
Part of a wider pattern, advocates say
Immigrant advocates say this is not a one-off case, but part of a broader pattern involving young people with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status caught up in stepped-up enforcement. A DHS letter to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto showed that ICE detained 265 and deported 132 SIJS recipients during 2025, figures highlighted by the Immigration Policy Tracking Project. Lawyers and advocates have challenged new agency guidance and the rollback of deferred-action practices for SIJS recipients in several courts.
Attorneys hope the order brings him home
Allison Chan of Margaret W. Wong & Associates, who represents Martinez-Andino, said he was "speechless" when he heard about the ruling and praised Judge Howell for recognizing serious due process problems, according to WUNC. Chan said she is cautiously optimistic that the government will follow through, while warning that prior promises to facilitate returns have, at times, fallen short.
What happens next
Court records show Howell issued the order on June 23 and instructed the defendants to report on what steps they are taking to bring Martinez-Andino back to the United States, with the litigation still active as officials weigh their legal options, per docket listings on Habeas Dockets. Advocates say the case could become a key test of how far courts will go to enforce due process protections for noncitizen youth with special legal status while agencies roll out new SIJS policies.
