ICE Director David Venturella unilaterally reversed torture protections, deported Mexican nationals

On August 7, 2026, ICE Director David Venturella unilaterally reversed torture-based withholding-of-removal protections for a group of Mexican nationals who had previously proven to an immigration court that they would likely face torture if returned to Mexico, and the Trump administration deported them in the days before the reporting. DHS said the reversal relied on diplomatic assurances the U.S. Department of State said it had received from the Mexican government that the deportees would not be harmed.

Typically, stripping a person of court-ordered deportation protections requires ICE to petition an immigration judge in a proceeding that lets the immigrant argue to remain protected. Immigration attorneys and experts said they could recall only one earlier instance of an ICE director single-handedly attempting to revoke such protections outside that judicial process — the case of an Egyptian man in 2008 — and in that case a court blocked the deportation before it happened.

DHS said in a statement that it "followed legal process required by the Constitution, statute, and regulations in removing these criminal illegal aliens to Mexico," adding that the group included gang members, narco traffickers, a child rapist, and a murderer, but the agency declined to identify the individuals or detail the underlying convictions. Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that if the deportees had completed legal proceedings in a foreign country, their return to Mexico was appropriate. Immigration advocates said Mexican nationals typically receive these torture-based protections after showing fear of cartels or organized crime in their home country.

Updates

2026-08-24 — Court identified one deportee, "John Doe," and ordered his return after finding likely due-process violations [2, 3, 4]

Federal court records identified one member of the deported group only as "John Doe," a Mexican national who had cooperated with U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors and testified against Mexican drug-cartel-affiliated defendants, and who was granted deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture in 2024. ICE first attempted to remove Doe to Guatemala on July 10, 2026; Guatemala rejected him. ICE removed him directly to Mexico on July 15-16, and a third and final time on August 1, 2026, without his personal belongings. Doe has remained in hiding since, fearing retaliation from cartel-linked individuals. In a memorandum opinion, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher (D. Md.) found the government likely revoked Doe's CAT protection without proper notice, an opportunity to challenge the evidence, or a hearing before a neutral decision-maker, and ordered the government to immediately facilitate his return to the United States and file daily status reports.