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U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis didn’t just deny their motions to dismiss Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s lawsuit over his botched deportation to El Salvador, she called one of their arguments straight-up “meritless.” Ouch, that’s gotta sting for the DOJ’s legal eagles, who probably thought they could waltz into court and sweep this mess under the rug.
“You made three arguments, defendants, and none are availing … meritless,” Xinis told DOJ attorney Bridget O’Hickey, who must’ve felt like she was back in law school getting a failing grade. The judge wasn’t playing around, and she had every reason to be angry.
“You made three arguments, defendants, and none are availing … meritless,” Xinis told DOJ attorney Bridget O’Hickey, who must’ve felt like she was back in law school getting a failing grade. The judge wasn’t playing around, and she had every reason to be angry.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, was one of over 250 Venezuelan and Salvadoran men deported to El Salvador’s maximum-security CECOT prison in March. The guy sued over his deportation, and now he’s back in the U.S., facing human trafficking charges in Tennessee. But here’s where it gets juicy: the government didn’t bother telling Xinis or Abrego Garcia’s lawyers when they brought him back in June and slapped him with an indictment. Classy move, DOJ.
Xinis, who’d already ordered the feds to get Abrego Garcia back to the U.S., wasn’t buying the government’s excuses. She grilled O’Hickey, asking if the U.S. cooked up the indictment just to drag him back. “Obviously you did have power to produce Mr. Abrego because you produced him less than a week later,” Xinis said, pointing out the DOJ’s shady timeline. A sealed indictment in Tennessee dropped six days after the government claimed in Maryland they had no power to bring him back. Sounds like someone’s pants were on fire.
The judge didn’t stop there. She called it “highly problematic” that the feds were scheming to investigate and prosecute Abrego Garcia without looping in her court. “We knew it was coming because eventually it was unsealed,” she said, noting that his lawyers only found out he was back in the U.S. from news reports. Imagine that, your client’s fate hinges on a Comedy News Network ticker.
Xinis, who’d already ordered the feds to get Abrego Garcia back to the U.S., wasn’t buying the government’s excuses. She grilled O’Hickey, asking if the U.S. cooked up the indictment just to drag him back. “Obviously you did have power to produce Mr. Abrego because you produced him less than a week later,” Xinis said, pointing out the DOJ’s shady timeline. A sealed indictment in Tennessee dropped six days after the government claimed in Maryland they had no power to bring him back. Sounds like someone’s pants were on fire.
The judge didn’t stop there. She called it “highly problematic” that the feds were scheming to investigate and prosecute Abrego Garcia without looping in her court. “We knew it was coming because eventually it was unsealed,” she said, noting that his lawyers only found out he was back in the U.S. from news reports. Imagine that, your client’s fate hinges on a Comedy News Network ticker.
Xinis wasn’t amused, asking O’Hickey, “How can this representation be one I can credit?” Good question, Your Honor.
O’Hickey tried to spin it, claiming the U.S. was “negotiating” with El Salvador to bring him back while simultaneously filing motions to dismiss. “At some point, don’t you have an obligation to me to say, ‘Judge, we have the power, we produced him, moot,’” Xinis shot back. She even questioned whether the DOJ’s lawyers knew the Tennessee indictment was coming. O’Hickey’s response was a vague word salad about “ongoing negotiations” and “tandem proceedings,” which would have made Kamala Harris proud.
O’Hickey tried to spin it, claiming the U.S. was “negotiating” with El Salvador to bring him back while simultaneously filing motions to dismiss. “At some point, don’t you have an obligation to me to say, ‘Judge, we have the power, we produced him, moot,’” Xinis shot back. She even questioned whether the DOJ’s lawyers knew the Tennessee indictment was coming. O’Hickey’s response was a vague word salad about “ongoing negotiations” and “tandem proceedings,” which would have made Kamala Harris proud.
Xinis wasn’t having it: “Is the indictment one of those steps? Since we are talking about my court order.”
Here’s where it gets even messier. The DOJ claimed Abrego Garcia wasn’t under investigation until April, a month after his lawsuit started. O’Hickey doubled down, saying, “I don’t believe that’s true, your honor,” even though that contradicts what law enforcement said in Tennessee.
Xinis also shut down the DOJ’s second motion to dismiss, which argued the lawsuit was moot since Abrego Garcia’s back in the U.S. She’s worried he could be deported again if released from custody, and she’s not wrong to be skeptical. The government’s track record here isn’t exactly inspiring confidence. Xinis laid out a path for the feds to prove they won’t screw this up again: name a country where they’d send him and give him time to challenge it, or promise in a “binding way” that he’ll get due process.
Here’s where it gets even messier. The DOJ claimed Abrego Garcia wasn’t under investigation until April, a month after his lawsuit started. O’Hickey doubled down, saying, “I don’t believe that’s true, your honor,” even though that contradicts what law enforcement said in Tennessee.
Xinis also shut down the DOJ’s second motion to dismiss, which argued the lawsuit was moot since Abrego Garcia’s back in the U.S. She’s worried he could be deported again if released from custody, and she’s not wrong to be skeptical. The government’s track record here isn’t exactly inspiring confidence. Xinis laid out a path for the feds to prove they won’t screw this up again: name a country where they’d send him and give him time to challenge it, or promise in a “binding way” that he’ll get due process.
You know, that pesky thing called the U.S. Constitution.
O’Hickey tried to downplay the deportation as an “isolated error,” insisting, “We’ve acknowledged this was an error and have no intention of making that error a second time.”
O’Hickey tried to downplay the deportation as an “isolated error,” insisting, “We’ve acknowledged this was an error and have no intention of making that error a second time.”
Xinis wasn’t buying the mea culpa. “For three months your clients told the world they weren’t going to do anything to bring him back,” she fired back. “Doesn’t that matter?” She even pointed out that the president, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Attorney General Pam Bondi all claimed there was no error. “I have been told that there was no error,” Xinis said, before ruling, “I don’t find at the moment that this case is moot.”
The DOJ’s Jonathan Guynn admitted that if Abrego Garcia is released from pretrial detention in Tennessee, DHS plans to deport him again, destination TBD. Xinis, fed up with the vagueness, ordered government officials with “firsthand knowledge” to testify Thursday about what happens if he’s released. “It’s like trying to nail Jello to a wall trying to find out what is going to happen next week,” she said, making it clear she’s not letting the feds “spirit him away again” without due process.
This whole saga is a masterclass in government incompetence. The DOJ’s been caught playing fast and loose with the truth, and Judge Xinis is holding their feet to the fire.
The DOJ’s Jonathan Guynn admitted that if Abrego Garcia is released from pretrial detention in Tennessee, DHS plans to deport him again, destination TBD. Xinis, fed up with the vagueness, ordered government officials with “firsthand knowledge” to testify Thursday about what happens if he’s released. “It’s like trying to nail Jello to a wall trying to find out what is going to happen next week,” she said, making it clear she’s not letting the feds “spirit him away again” without due process.
This whole saga is a masterclass in government incompetence. The DOJ’s been caught playing fast and loose with the truth, and Judge Xinis is holding their feet to the fire.
There will definitely be more to follow.
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