NEW YORK — A federal appeals court ordered the Trump administration to return a Salvadoran man who was deported from the U.S. in early May as a result of an “inadvertent” and “improper” government error.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York told the government to return Jordin Alexander Melgar-Salmeron “as soon as possible” after officials said he was put on a flight to El Salvador on May 7 “due to a confluence of administrative errors.”

“The government is hereby ordered to facilitate the return of petitioner to the United States as soon as possible to ‘ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,’” a panel of appellate judges said in a two-page order Tuesday.

Melgar-Salmeron is at least the fourth person removed from the U.S. who a federal court has ordered the Trump administration to take steps to bring back to the U.S. The government fought the return of the first person, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, until earlier this month, when he was brought back to face charges that he illegally transported undocumented immigrants.

The Trump administration, which has faced opposition to its deportation campaign, has said that it is prioritizing the removal of criminals and other people who present a danger to the community. Melgar-Salmeron pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a shotgun and was sentenced to two years in prison in 2021.

Melgar-Salmeron’s lawyer, Matthew Borowski, said that his client had been affiliated with the MS-13 street gang, but left the group years ago and was working in construction. Melgar-Salmeron is married to a U.S. citizen and has four children, he said.

“We’re very happy about this ruling and look forward to his return,” Borowski said. He said his client’s family believes he’s being held in Izalco prison in El Salvador but “there is no way of independently confirming it.”

In a statement, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the ruling “completely at odds with President Trump’s duty to faithfully execute federal law.” She cited Melgar-Salmeron’s criminal record in the U.S. and El Salvador and said he’d been under a final order of removal from the U.S.

The 2nd Circuit said that on May 7 Melgar-Salmeron was escorted onto a flight that did not take off from the U.S. until 10:20 a.m., about 30 minutes after the appeals court ruled that he couldn’t be taken out of the country. The U.S., meanwhile, conceded “a perfect storm of errors occurred” that caused Melgar-Salmeron’s “untimely and inadvertent removal,” the court said.

As in some of the other cases involving improperly deported immigrants, the judges ordered a government official with personal knowledge of the situation to provide them with Melgar-Salmeron’s current physical location, his custodial status as well as what steps the U.S. will take to facilitate his return.

The case is Melgar-Salmeron v. Bondi, 23-7792, U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit.

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(With assistance from Zoe Tillman.)

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