A federal court in Boston has pressed the Trump administration for documentation of a claim that roughly 6,000 Cubans were removed to Mexico under what government lawyers characterized as a standing but "unwritten" arrangement. U.S. District Judge William Young issued the order on Wednesday and challenged whether such a pact between sovereign nations could be secret.
The demand for proof arose in litigation brought on behalf of Jorge Juan Navarro, a man taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in February after living in the United States for more than three decades. Counsel for Navarro say ICE detained him even though officials were aware they could not quickly deport him to Cuba, a country that has frequently declined to repatriate its citizens.
Judge Young temporarily stayed Navarro's case while awaiting resolution of the administration's appeal of a separate judicial decision that found unlawful the government's policy of fast-tracking deportations of migrants to countries other than those from which they originated. In the interim, Young ordered the administration to provide evidence of the purported agreement with Mexico to accept Cubans who are removed from the United States.
At a hearing, a government attorney initially offered to furnish the judge a copy of the agreement but later characterized it as a "standing (unwritten) agreement." That characterization drew incredulity from Young, who wrote: "What? Can this be true? There's some unwritten deal between the sovereign nations whereby 6,000 Cuban nationals have already been shipped to Mexico? Is this deal secret?"
The Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of ICE, did not respond to a request for comment on the judge's order or the administration's representations to the court.
Judge Young noted that the administration at times pointed to a Mexico agreement reached in 2023 in which Mexico agreed to accept expulsions of non-citizens from four nations, including Cuba, provided the Biden administration established a humanitarian parole pathway for those migrants. Young observed, however, that the Trump administration had terminated that parole program.
In his written order, Young reflected on the broader implications of the administration's stance, saying the government appeared to be arguing that because de facto practice of removals to Mexico was happening "on a grand scale" it should be considered acceptable. He added a warning about the role of the judiciary in reviewing executive actions: "At some point, judicial restraint and deference to the executive's statutory duties become abdication of my duty to exercise the judicial function," Young wrote.
The court's demand for documentary support is part of a concentrated judicial review of rapid deportation practices and procedural safeguards for detained non-citizens. Navarro's lawyers contend that his detention and the circumstances surrounding potential removal violated ICE procedures and his due process rights. The judge's skepticism about an undocumented international arrangement raises legal and procedural questions the administration will be required to address while appeals and related litigation proceed.