The Maryland man whom the U.S. government admits it mistakenly deported last month to El Salvador is still alive, the Justice Department revealed in its daily update over the weekend.
However, the administration has yet to go through with a Supreme Court ruling that it must move forward with "facilitating" the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia after his wrongful deportation.
As of Monday, the DOJ continued to go back and forth in court filings over the matter. According to the DOJ, Garcia is an MS-13 gang member, although Garcia's lawyer has challenged the government to use the legal process to present evidence of his supposed membership in court.
MSNBC host Jose Diaz Balart reported that the DOJ has attempted to play games with the interpretation of the words "facilitate" and "maintain," saying that a federal court can't compel the executive branch to conduct acts of diplomacy.
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"I think it's absolute hogwash," responded former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade. "I think this argument is an absolute embarrassment to the lawyers who wrote it. The Supreme Court made it quite clear that they did not require the government to 'effectuate the release,' which means get it done. Which means, you know, by any means necessary, including military force. They were not required to do that, but 'facilitate' means much more than the Trump administration is saying here."
She alleged that the government is saying that if El Salvador releases Garcia, then the U.S. will "allow him to come back" into the country.
"That is not a good-faith reading of the word 'facilitate,'" McQuade continued. "These men are being held in El Salvador at the request of the United States, upon payment of $6 million. They can — if they can send them there — if they can send Kristi Noem there with her $50,000 watch for a tour, they can certainly bring this man back."
"I think it's absolutely embarrassing," she added.
She went on to explain that "due process" means that the government can't simply accuse Garcia of being a gang member and immediately take away his liberty and freedoms without a hearing.
"I mean, so the idea that they can just crumple up the paper and make it go away is just nonsense," McQuade said.
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