Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia could be winging his way to Liberia by the end of the week, or perhaps not. From the Associated Press (AP),
Judge seeks assurances that Abrego Garcia won’t be deported to Liberia in violation of court order.
As often as Trump is accused of being a dictator, a king, a tyrant, an authoritarian, an oligarch, a Nazi, his Administration scrupulously adheres to any and all court orders, however unmoored they may be to any law or set of facts.
And the underlying fact remains that Abrego is an illegal alien,
In 2019, an immigration judge granted him protection from being deported back to El Salvador, where he faces a “well-founded fear” of violence from a gang that targeted his family.
It is believed that the gang in question no longer exists in El Salvador, thanks to the amazingly successful crackdown on crime in that Central American nation.
That 2019 order did not prohibit Abrego’s deportation to a third country. So, nothing under the still-in-effect 2019 order would bar his deportation to Liberia.
Currently, Abrego is being prosecuted in Tennessee on a federal felony charge of human trafficking. He also has multiple cases before the immigration court and the ongoing case where a federal district judge in Maryland believes, incorrectly, that she runs the executive branch’s immigration court.
In the Tennessee case, Abrego replaced his taxpayer-funded public defender with four (4) attorneys from a private, “boutique” New York City law firm. In all of the other court proceedings, Abrego is also using private lawyers.
Who knows, at this point his legal bills may already have reached into the millions of dollars. Who is paying for it all? I can assure you that it’s not Abrego himself.
Meanwhile, given the ongoing government shutdown, Dept. of Justice lawyers are likely working for free, at this point.
Back to the AP,
During a status conference on Monday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis questioned why the government does not simply deport Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica — a country he has said he is willing to go to.
Not so fast. Abrego had been offered deportation to Costa Rica as part of a plea deal in the human smuggling case. He turned down the offer and later added Costa Rica to his list of “no fly to” nations, a roster now including dozens of substandard countries.
Now that he’s facing deportation to Africa, suddenly Costa Rica is A-OK. At this juncture, he’s more than willing to take all of the benefits of the plea deal, without admitting any responsibility for his crimes. Naturally, the judge has repurposed the carrots offered by the prosecution as a stick to be used against them. She asked in open court,
Any insight you can shed on why we’re continuing this hearing when you could deport him to a third country tomorrow?
Previously, Liberia was not on Abrego’s banned list. Now, it’s somehow problematic, for unstated reasons.
The AP reports,
In a separate action in immigration court, Abrego Garcia has applied for asylum in the United States.
Hold on. Abrego has stated that he is a political prison in the United States, singled out for persecution for partisan reasons and subjected to inhumane and abjectly cruel treatment that represent unprecedented human rights violations.
But he is seeking asylum so he can remain…in America? Wut?
I’m guessing that Abrego’s case will still be in court come New Year’s Day, as the judge holds hearing after hearing on the appropriate thread count for the sheets in Abrego’s taxpayer-paid, beach-side villa in Costa Rica.
So much due process.
