Trump’s Horrifying Removal of Man in “Error” Takes an Even Darker Turn
Second, the government says courts can’t order it to seek his return because that would intrude on the president’s power to conduct foreign relations. But this doesn’t explain why Trump doesn’t do this of his own accord, and besides, the U.S. government has traditionally sought to correct other erroneous deportations.
Finally, to justify leaving Abrego Garcia in a foreign gulag, the Trump administration claims he is a member of the MS-13 gang. But the evidence for this is exceptionally thin. As the lower court has noted, it rests on the claim that a “confidential informant” told police in Maryland (where he was detained in 2019) that he was in the gang, and on his … Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie.
That’s absurd. But here’s the thing: Even if you allow that Abrego Garcia might have been in MS-13, the government still can simply return him, go into an immigration court, and relitigate his initial “withholding of removal” status. Or, alternatively, the government can seek to deport him to a third country, which isn’t precluded by that status.