DHS says a judge’s order blocking the man’s deportation from the U.S. was not received until after he was deported

Immigration authorities did not receive any information about a court order prohibiting the removal of anyone living there Alabama until he was deported laosThe US Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday rejected claims that officials violated the order.

Chanthila “Shawn” Souvannarath, 44, was deported Friday, a day after a federal judge in Baton Rouge, according to her attorneys. louisianaasked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to keep him in the country so he could present what the judge called a “substantial claim to U.S. citizenship.”

Souvannarath was born in a refugee camp in Thailand but has lived most of his life in the US DHS Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the judge’s order to keep him in the country was “not given” to ICE until Souvannarath was deported.

“The media was disappointed that no mistake was made,” McLaughlin said in a statement.

DHS and ICE did not respond to questions from The Associated Press seeking additional details on timelines and how officials obtained federal court orders.

American Civil Liberties UnionJoe Souvannarath, who is representing Souvannarath, asked U.S. District Judge Shelley Dick to order his immediate return to the United States, calling the deportation “unlawful.”

“ICE has acted in direct opposition to a federal court order, which should be troubling to everyone,” said Nora Ahmed, legal director of the ACLU of Louisiana.

The deportations come as Trump administration officials repeatedly face off in courts over their efforts to deport large numbers of immigrants. There have been previous cases of US citizens being deported, including US-born children.

Souvannarath most recently lived in Arabia, Alabama. Court records show that he was granted lawful permanent residence in the US before his first birthday. His father, a native of Laos, is a naturalized American citizen, and Souvannarath claims his citizenship derives from that status.

Souvannarath was taken into ICE custody in June after his annual check-in with immigration authorities. His wife told the AP that two of his five children were with him when he was detained.

McLaughlin said Souvannarath “has lost his green card” and was ordered deported after pleading guilty in 2006 to “heinous crimes” – assault and illegal possession of a gun – and “he had no right to be in this country.” It was unclear why Souvannarath was not taken into ICE custody earlier.

In 2004, Souvannarath was convicted of unlawful firearm possession and assault against his then-girlfriend in King County, Washington. Court records show he was convicted of rape against the same woman several years earlier.

“Twenty years later, she has made a Hail Mary effort to remain in our country by claiming to be a U.S. citizen,” McLaughlin wrote in her statement. “I know it’s shocking to the media – but criminal illegal aliens lie all the time.”

Souvannarath’s wife, Beatrice, described him as a hard-working and loving father who had stayed out of any trouble since his run-in with the law two decades earlier. He said he has mostly done the installation of air conditioners and heaters. “He doesn’t even drink alcohol,” she said.

His wife said she received news last week that he was being deported and a few days later, he was in custody in Laos, a country he had not visited before.

Representing himself in court, Souvannarath filed an emergency petition seeking to stop his deportation. The judge, appointed by President Barack Obama, cited “irreparable harm caused by immediate deportation” in issuing a temporary restraining order blocking the deportation for 14 days.

Prior to his deportation, Souvannarath was detained at a newly opened ICE facility at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola.

__Mustian reported from New York. Associated Press reporter Cedar Attanasio contributed from Seattle, Washington.