04/06/2025

DOJ Says Judge Cannot Order Return of Salvadoran Man Wrongly Deported

The administration seems to be unaware of the separation of governmental powers

Government attorneys slammed a judge's order to return a Salvadoran immigrant to the United States, arguing in a Saturday filing that the judge's directive was "indefensible" and that the United States has "no authority" to make a sovereign nation release the man.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis directed the administration to arrange the return of Kilmar Abrego García, a Salvadoran immigrant married to a U.S. citizen, by no later than 11:59 p.m. Monday. The Justice Department’s response asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4^th Circuit to step in and immediately pause Xinis’s order.

The United States does not have control over Abrego Garcia. Or the sovereign nation of El Salvador. Nevertheless, the court's injunction commands that Defendants accomplish, somehow, Abrego Garcia's return to the United States in give or take one business day. That order is indefensible," Justice Department lawyers allege. The appeal argues at length that the government has no power to return Abrego García because he is in the custody of the Salvadoran government, though the Trump administration says it is paying El Salvador about $6 million for the detention of deportees.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.