The U.S. Department of Justice informed an appeals court on Saturday that a lower court judge did not have the authority to order the Trump administration to arrange the return of a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The department also announced it had suspended a government attorney who admitted in court that the deportation was a mistake.
Government attorneys filed a request with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to stay the ruling made by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, which required the administration to “facilitate and effectuate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran national, to the U.S. by the following Monday night.
The Justice Department argued that a judicial order compelling the executive branch to engage with a foreign government in a particular manner or to force action by a sovereign nation is unconstitutional.
The appeals court asked Abrego Garcia’s legal team to respond to the government’s request by Sunday afternoon.
Abrego Garcia, who had lived in Maryland, was deported last month despite an immigration judge’s 2019 ruling that granted him protection from deportation to El Salvador due to the risk of persecution by local gangs. The deportation, described by the White House as an “administrative error,” has sparked widespread outrage and raised concerns over the expulsion of individuals granted permission to remain in the U.S.
During a court hearing on Friday, Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni acknowledged to Judge Xinis that Abrego Garcia should not have been removed from the U.S. or sent to El Salvador. Reuveni also admitted that he was unable to explain the authority under which Abrego Garcia had been arrested in Maryland, expressing frustration about the lack of answers.
By Saturday, Reuveni was placed on administrative leave, with the Justice Department confirming the decision. The department emphasized its commitment to ensuring all its attorneys vigorously represent the U.S. and stated that any failure to do so would result in consequences.
Judge Xinis ruled on Friday that there was no legal justification for Abrego Garcia’s detention or removal to El Salvador, where he has been held in a prison known for human rights violations.
Abrego Garcia’s attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, criticized the government for its lack of action, even after admitting its mistake. “There have been plenty of public statements, but no tangible steps have been taken to correct the situation with El Salvador,” Sandoval-Moshenberg told the judge.
The White House has repeatedly referred to Abrego Garcia as an MS-13 gang member, a claim his attorneys deny, pointing out that there is no evidence to support this assertion. Abrego Garcia, who had legal permission to work in the U.S., was employed as a sheet metal apprentice and was working toward his journeyman license. He fled El Salvador in 2011 due to gang threats and had been granted protection from deportation to the country in 2019.
In their filing, government attorneys argued that they have no authority to arrange for Abrego Garcia’s return, comparing it to a hypothetical court order demanding action on unrelated international matters, such as ending the war in Ukraine or securing the return of hostages from Gaza.
They described the court’s ruling as akin to forcing a foreign government to return a foreign individual within a set timeframe, calling it an improper and untenable order under U.S. law.
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