Judge Orders ICE to Return Kenis Lopez Gonzalez From the Central African Republic

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey M. Bryan ordered on Friday that ICE return Kenis Lopez Gonzalez to Minnesota from the Central African Republic, the Minnesota Reformer reports. An immigration judge had ruled that he could not be deported back to Nicaragua because he was at risk of being tortured there. Lopez said officers shot men on the bus with pepper balls and rubber bullets at close range, and that he was placed in a ‘wrap’ and carried onto the plane. One of his attorneys said: “ICE violated Mr. Lopez’s constitutional rights, and hardly even denied it.” The Reformer reports the government paid $85 million to the International Organization for Migration in the Central African Republic, and that a letter asked DHS to “refrain from publicly discussing our cooperation with CAR on this matter.”

Update (2026-10-30, order date): What the order holds and does not decide

The order (ECF 30) says “Lopez is likely to succeed on these claims,” which concern revoking his order of supervision without the required process. On his remaining claims, it says: “For purposes of the preliminary injunction motion, the Court need not address Lopez’s probability of succeeding on his remaining claims.” It also says: “Nothing in this Order shall be construed to, and does not, adjudicate the validity of the IJ’s order for Lopez’s removal or withholding of removal or DHS’s policy of third-country removals.” It directs that “Defendants shall arrange for and facilitate Lopez’s return to the United States from the Central African Republic.” The court quotes a letter from the Deputy Secretary of State to DHS saying: “Given the highly sensitive nature of our discussions with CAR, I ask that the Department of Homeland Security refrain from publicly discussing our cooperation with CAR on this matter.”