Judge questions DOJ's push to deport Abrego Garcia while his criminal case is pending
The federal judge overseeing Kilmar Abrego Garcia's Maryland immigration case on Tuesday pressed the government over its push to swiftly deport the Salvadoran native while his criminal case in Tennessee is still pending.
The hearing follows a Justice Department request from last month to dissolve a preliminary injunction barring the government from re-detaining Abrego Garcia, so he can be deported to the West African nation of Liberia.
"Be clear, there is no emergency if what you're telling me is true that you want to prosecute Mr. Abrego Garcia in Tennessee," U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said at Tuesday's hearing, adding, "You can't have it both ways -- he physically needs to be in this country to be prosecuted."
Abrego Garcia, who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children, was deported in March of last year to El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison -- despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution -- after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which he denies.
He was brought back to the U.S. in June to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, to which he pleaded not guilty.
When Xinis asked the government during Tuesday's hearing if it was dismissing the Tennessee indictment, DOJ attorney Ernesto Molina said it is not.
Xinis also questioned why the government has not agreed to send Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica, his preferred country of removal.
"It is common knowledge that the United States has now reached an agreement with Costa Rica to remove similarly situated individuals to Abrego Garcia," Xinis said.
Molina responded that Abrego Garcia could deport himself to Costa Rica, which would "effectuate" his removal order. Xinis pushed back, calling that a "fantasy" and pointing to a court order from the federal judge overseeing the Tennessee case that requires Abrego Garcia to attend his hearings.
"Yes your honor, you're correct," Molina said.
"You're conceding that you're not dismissing the indictment, and you all know that Mr. Abrego Garcia has to be in the United States ... so why are you pressing this motion to dissolve if the criminal case is still needed for the government?" she asked again.
Molina said the Department of Homeland Security's interest is to remove Abrego Garcia from the U.S.
