Arun, a 36-year-old man who had been abducted and tortured by the military in his home country, crossed into Texas on February 11, 2025, and immediately told U.S. Border Patrol he was a refugee seeking asylum. He was taken to a detention center in McAllen, where he gave officers his brother's phone number — his brother is a lawful permanent resident with refugee status who has lived in the U.S. for 15 years. He repeatedly asked to go to court to file an asylum claim. An officer told him, 'You should stay in your country. You can't come to our country, and we will send you back.' Officials scanned all his documents but never returned them. After three days he was handcuffed, shackled, and deported to Panama. He was given no documents — no deportation order, no explanation of legal authority. The U.S. kept his passport, making him undocumented in Panama with a 30-day permit to leave the country.