XPost: law.court.federal, alt.politics.immigration, alt.politics.republicans XPost: sac.politics, alt.society.liberalism
https://redstate.com/streiff/2025/04/13/trumps-department-of-justice- tells-judge-theyre-no-longer-amused-playing-her-silly-games-n2187827
The Department of Justice's response to a request by the attorneys
representing El Salvadoran national Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia for a
"show cause" holding the government in contempt didn't go exactly
according to the script the plaintiffs had in mind. It served notice on Obama-appointed federal judge Paula Xinis that she was mistaken if she
thought the Department of Justice or the White House were shaking in their boots. It is the philosophical follow-up to the last response the DOJ sent
to the judge; see Trump Admin Respectfully Tells Judge Xinis to Pound Sand
in Abrego Garcia Case RedState.
This case started when Abrego Garcia was picked up by Immigration and
Customs Enforcement agents in suburban Maryland and given a free plane
trip to an anti-terrorism prison in El Salvador. What would have been an unremarkable deportation of an illegal immigrant with alleged gang ties
and an active removal order became more complicated when it was discovered
that the removal order said he couldn't be removed to El Salvador because
the bad blood between his gang, MS-13, and another gang might make him a target. Since then, the administration has been locked in a battle of will
with a federal judge who seems hellbent on bringing an illegal immigrant
back to the US so she can demonstrate her power.
The government summarizes the demands made by the plaintiffs this way: "In response, Plaintiffs moved for three categories of relief: (1) an order superintending and micromanaging Defendants foreign relations with the independent, sovereign nation of El Salvador, (2) an order allowing
expedited discovery and converting Tuesdays hearing into an evidentiary hearing, and (3) an order to show cause for why Defendants should not be
held in contempt.
READ THE BRIEF
DOJ Response to Show Cause Request by streiff at redstate on Scribd
Download this PDF
https://www.scribd.com/document/849584197/DOJ-Response-to-Show-Cause- Request#download&from_embed
Points 1) and 2) are directed at the language of the Supreme Court order
(New: Supreme Court Issues Order on the Removal of Salvadoran National
Kilmar Abrego Garcia RedState) that sent the case back to Judge Xinis
with some very explicit guidance...though, as we've seen, not nearly
explicit enough; see The Latest: District Court Amends Order Directing
Trump Admin to 'Facilitate' Abrego Garcia's Return RedState.
"The relief sought by Plaintiffs is inconsistent with the Supreme Courts instruction requiring this Court to respect the Presidents Article II authority to manage foreign policy," says the DOJ brief, "The Court should therefore reject Plaintiffs request for further intrusive supervision of
the Executives facilitation process beyond the daily status reports
already ordered." They also note, "Defendants object to the requirement
of daily status reports and reserve the right to challenge that
requirement further." So, we can expect another fight to erupt over the frequency of case updates to make its way to the Fourth Circuit.
To make the point crystal clear to Judge Xinis, the brief goes on to say,
"The Supreme Court explained that on remand, any new order must clarify
the scope of the term effectuate, in a manner that did not exceed the District Courts authority. The Court instructed that any directive
must give due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in
the conduct of foreign affairs. And it made clear that any directive
should concern Abrego Garcias release from custody in El Salvador and ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.
This is critical because Judge Xinis and the Abrego Garcia's legal team
have framed "facilitate" as "bring back to the US." The clear reading of
the SCOTUS order is that it was referring to getting him out of prison.
The DOJ brief makes it very clear that the administration does not
consider "facilitate" to have anything to do with bringing an illegal
alien and alleged gang member back to the US: "Defendants understand facilitate to mean what that term has long meant in the immigration
context, namely actions allowing an alien to enter the United States.
Taking all available steps to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia is
thus best read as taking all available steps to remove any domestic
obstacles that would otherwise impede the aliens ability to return here. Indeed, no other reading of 'facilitate is tenableor
constitutionalhere." Boom! as the kids on X say.
To make the matter more emphatic, the brief tells the judge that she is
mucking about in areas where the Constitution tells her she cannot tread.
"They [the plaintiffs] ask this Court to order Defendants to (i) make
demands of the El Salvadoran government (A1), (ii) dispatch personnel onto
the soil of an independent, sovereign nation (A2), and (iii) send an
aircraft into the airspace of a sovereign foreign nation to extract a
citizen of that nation from its custody (A3). All of those requested
orders involve interactions with a foreign sovereignand potential
violations of that sovereignty. But as explained, a federal court cannot
compel the Executive Branch to engage in any mandated act of diplomacy or incursion upon the sovereignty of another nation." All of this is true.
Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran citizen in the custody of the Salvadoran government. The US government has no authority to demand his release, even
if it wants to do so.
Signaling patience has run out on this case, the government said it will continue to provide updates so long as it amuses them but it will not take diplomatic action based on a court's directives: "Any further intrusion
into this sensitive processand any directive from the Court to take
action against the nation of El Salvadorwould be inconsistent with the
care counseled by the Supreme Court."
They also explain why ordering the "discovery" requested by the plaintiffs
will be more difficult than anticipated. Questions about the negotiations
would "interfere with ongoing diplomatic discussionsparticularly in the context of President Bukeles ongoing trip to the United States." Also,
the White House will probably invoke attorney-client and State Secrets privileges to contest providing more information about what is happening
in the administration.
This was accompanied by a status update provided by Mr. Evan Katz,
Assistant Director for the Removal Division, within the Department of
Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
READ THE STATUS REPORT
Katz Status Report by streiff at redstate on Scribd
Download this PDF
https://www.scribd.com/document/849585374/Katz-Status- Report#download&from_embed
In his update, he lays out the history of Abrego Garcia's case, and while acknowledging Abrego Garcia "should not have been removed to El Salvador,"
Katz throws a couple of live rhetorical grenades into the room. First, he
says, contrary to leftist propaganda, that the immigration judge who
ordered, and then stayed, Abrego Garcia's removal in 2019 found the
evidence of his MS-13 connection trustworthy and supported by other evidence, and that Abrego Garcia failed to present evidence to rebut
that assertion. As far as Katz is concerned, Abrego Garcia "is no longer eligible for withholding of removal because of his membership in MS-13
which is now a designated foreign terrorist organization."
This means Abrego Garcia has received all the due process he is likely to
get, and the administration has fulfilled the charge given it by the
Supreme Court to "ensure that his case is handled as it would have been
had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.
And, by the way, "It is my understanding that Defendants have no updates
for the Court beyond what was provided yesterday."
--
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