DOJ suspends lawyer for questioning Maryland man’s deportation

• The DOJ is challenging a federal judge’s order compelling the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia after he was wrongfully deported due to an “administrative error.” The agency has also suspended the lawyer who admitted that Abrego Garcia should not have been deported.
• Trump administration lawyers called the judicial order “constitutionally intolerable,” adding “it has no basis in American law.”
• Attorney General Pam Bondi, meanwhile, said Erez Reuveni was suspended after he failed to “zealously advocate” on behalf of the U.S.

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The Department of Justice (DOJ) is challenging a federal judge’s order to arrange for the return of a Maryland man who was deported to El Salvador’s notorious Cecot prison over an “administrative error.” The DOJ has also suspended the lawyer who admitted that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported.

On Saturday, April 5, the DOJ asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to pause a ruling handed down by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis the day prior, compelling the Trump administration to arrange for Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. Xinis gave the administration until late Monday night, April 7, to broker an agreement.

DOJ calls judge’s order ‘constitutionally intolerable’

However, in its filing on Saturday, lawyers for the Trump administration wrote, “A judicial order that forces the Executive to engage with a foreign power in a certain way, let alone compel a certain action by a foreign sovereign, is constitutionally intolerable.”

The administration’s lawyers added, “It is an injunction to force a foreign sovereign to send back a foreign terrorist within three days’ time. That is no way to run a government. And it has no basis in American law.”

Why was Abrego Garcia deported?

Abrego Garcia was deported in March under the Alien Enemies Act, a seldom-used tool the Trump administration has relied on to expedite some of its deportations. To qualify for the deportation, the administration has maintained that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, though his attorneys say there is no evidence to support the claim.

Likewise, the administration hasn’t provided any evidence to the courts, saying only that a confidential informant identified Abrego Garcia as a member of MS-13’s New York chapter in 2019. Abrego Garcia has never lived in New York.

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have until Sunday afternoon, April 6, to respond.

DOJ suspends lawyer for failing to ‘zealously advocate’ on US’ behalf

Meanwhile, the DOJ also suspended Erez Reuveni, the agency’s lawyer who told Xinis that Abrego Garcia should not have been deported and that he was unaware of why the Salvadoran national was initially arrested.

When asked by Xinis why the White House couldn’t arrange for Abrego Garcia’s return, Reuveni reportedly said “The absence of evidence speaks for itself.”

A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed to The Associated Press Saturday that Reuveni had been placed on leave.

In a statement following Reuveni’s removal, Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “At my direction, every Department of Justice attorney is required to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States. Any attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences.”

Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador around 2011 due to threats from local gangs. He was granted protection from U.S. deportation in 2019 and later married Jennifer Vasquez Sura, a U.S. citizen. He has been working as a sheet metal apprentice and pursuing a journeyman license, under a work permit issued by the Department of Homeland Security. The couple has one son, as well as two children from a previous relationship.