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A High Court judge has found the chief immigration officer (CIO) in contempt of court for defying an injunction that barred the deportation of two Venezuelan women in 2019.

Justice Nadia Kangaloo made the order on May 23 and ordered the CIO to pay the women’s legal costs.

In the contempt of court application, lawyers representing Julie Stephanie Vivas Abanero and Neyelis Del Valle Hernandez Ugas claimed the Immigration Division, under then-CIO Charmaine Gandhi-Andrews' supervision, proceeded with the deportation despite being informed of the injunction.