Judge's order blocking removal of man from U.S. wasn't received until after he was deported, DHS says [View all]
Source: NBC News/AP
Oct. 30, 2025, 11:15 AM EDT
NEW ORLEANS — Immigration authorities did not receive word of a court order blocking the removal of a man living in Alabama until after he had been deported to Laos, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday, dismissing claims that officials violated the order.
Chanthila "Shawn" Souvannarath, 44, was deported on Friday, according to his attorneys, a day after a federal judge in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, told U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to keep him in the country so that he could present what the judge called a "substantial claim of U.S. citizenship."
Souvannarath was born in a refugee camp in Thailand but has lived most of his life in the U.S. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the judge's order keeping him in the country "was not served" to ICE until after Souvannarath had been deported. "To the media's chagrin, there was no mistake," McLaughlin said in a statement. DHS and ICE did not respond to questions from The Associated Press seeking additional details on the timeline and how officials receive federal court orders.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Souvannarath, asked U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick to order his immediate return to the U.S., calling the deportation "unlawful." "ICE has acted in direct opposition to a federal court order, which should disturb everyone," said Nora Ahmed, legal director of the ACLU of Louisiana.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judges-order-blocking-removal-man-us-wasnt-received-was-deported-dhs-s-rcna240739
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