The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a filing submitted late Wednesday that U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis lacks the authority to grant the requests made by the immigration attorneys representing Kilmar Abrego Garcia in his Maryland lawsuit against the Trump administration over his March deportation.
It came in response to a previous filing from Abrego Garcia’s attorneys, asking Xinis for permission to submit an amended lawsuit after the citizen of El Salvador was returned to Tennessee to face human smuggling charges.
If filed, the amended complaint would ask Xinis (pictured above in her 2015 nomination hearing) to issue an order compelling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain Abrego Garcia in Maryland, if he is first released from DOJ custody in Tennessee, citing the U.S. Supreme Court decision ordering the Trump administration to facilitate his return to the country.
It also requests Xinis to file a writ of habeas corpus, compelling the government to justify its continued detainment of the illegal immigrant.
At the conclusion of such a hearing, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys asked Xinis to rule that their client should be released on the same conditions he received following his 2019 final deportation order, which contained a withholding of removal provision that resulted in his continued presence in the United States.
The request to file an amended complaint was notably the same filing where Abrego Garcia’s attorneys claimed their client was tortured and malnourished following his deportation, losing nearly 40 pounds in weeks, only to have President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador publish videos of Abrego Garcia’s cell and movements within the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), which he said contradicted Abrego Garcia’s claims.
In its response, the DOJ said the request was futile, as the majority of the claims levied by Abrego Garcia were resolved upon his return to the United States on June 6, when U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi unsealed the indictment accusing him of spending nearly a decade embroiled in a human smuggling ring.
Even if Abrego Garcia’s claims were not invalidated by his return to the country, the DOJ said that Xinis’ court lacks the authority to issue a ruling which would prevent a future decision by ICE, as existing law specifies that such rulings are made by appellate judges after the fact.
The DOJ attorneys then argued that because Xinis lacks the authority to compel ICE to house Abrego Garcia in Maryland, she consequently lacks the authority to hold a habeas corpus hearing because Abrego Garcia is currently in DOJ custody within the Middle District of Tennessee, as well as beyond the scope of the lawsuit.
Notably, though Xinis said last week that she would release a written order regarding an earlier request by Abrego Garcia’s attorneys to force ICE to detain him in Maryland ahead of his criminal court hearing in Tennessee, the judge had yet to announce a decision on Thursday.
Abrego Garcia is currently held in Tennessee by the U.S. Marshals Service on behalf of the DOJ, but his defense attorneys asked U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw on Wednesday to release the citizen of El Salvador.
Because Abrego Garcia is subject to a final deportation order, such a release would likely lead to his immediate detainment by ICE. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys, as well as DOJ attorneys in Tennessee and Maryland, have confirmed that Abrego Garcia could be deported again once in ICE custody.
The Tennessee Star was the first outlet to report that Abrego Garcia was stopped by Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) in November 2022, when a THP spokesman told The Star the “Biden-era FBI” instructed troopers to release him despite their suspicion Abrego Garcia was involved in human trafficking.
Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to the human smuggling indictment.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
It’s disturbing to witness this criminal alien’s case continue as if he were a US citizen. He clearly has more “rights” than any other criminal in the country.
My tax dollars are paying his expensive attorneys, as well as the DOJ & the judge.
Looking at the videos that President Bukele released from the CECOT prison in El Salvador, Garcia looked pretty happy in that environment. He certainly got better treatment & legal representation than any of the J6 Defendants arrested for “trespassing” on Capitol grounds. Some never even had a hearing for years after incarceration. They were put IN SOLITAIRE CONFINEMENT FOR MONTHS at a time. They were beaten, spit on & served rotten meat at times.
They were deprived time with family & attorneys, pastoral & healthcare.
Most of the J6 Defensants were American heroes, who served many tours in Iraq & Afghanistan. Rangers, Special Forces, Seals.
WTF in America???? They’ve been pardoned by our great President Trump, but we owe them so much more. We owe them a REAL INVESTIGATION into the Federal Color Revolution setting these great Patriots up to appear to be attempting to overturn an election. Bad Actors in high places orchestrated a Coups to insure that Congress would be intimidated into certifying a clearly illegal election in 2020.
So spare me the pity party over an illegal alien criminal MS13 GANG MEMBER.
Sick of this creeps name taking up space.
WE DONT WANT HIM IN AMERICA. PERIOD!
Criminals in robes supporting criminals in the streets. Demonrats look after each other.