NEW: As the Fourth Circuit today considers whether to block her order, Judge Paula Xinis releases a strong opinion defending it, calling Kilmar Abrego Garcia's detention "wholly lawless" and her order "the narrowest, daresay only, relief warranted." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us... - ThreadSky

joshuajfriedman.com • 2 days ago

NEW: As the Fourth Circuit today considers whether to block her order, Judge Paula Xinis releases a strong opinion defending it, calling Kilmar Abrego Garcia's detention "wholly lawless" and her order "the narrowest, daresay only, relief warranted." https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.578815/gov.uscourts.mdd.578815.31.0.pdf

Comments

misterbrixster.bsky.social•2 days ago

Worth noting that this protection was granted in 2019, while Trump was POTUS.

jcm444.bsky.social•2 days ago

Americans deserve answers. The Trump Crime Family went down to Bukele to strike a deal - even before Trump was elected. Did they force Bukele to buy Trump crypto and in return get a commitment to spend billions of American taxpayers' money to turf people to their gulag? What happened here?

jcm444.bsky.social•2 days ago

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-nightly/2024/06/03/magas-el-salvador-field-trip-00161345

deanbooth.bsky.social•2 days ago

I bet that while she was there, Kristi Noem could easily have traded her Rolex for Kilmar Abrego Garcia's release.

esqueue.bsky.social•2 days ago

Or just brought him back easily instead of grandstanding. The cruelty is the point.

liberaltexan.bsky.social•2 days ago

If they fail to repatriate this man, the judge should immediately issue bench warrants(I’m no attorney y’all), and fine and lock up every DOJ lawyer on the case. Stop pussyfooting with these schmucks!

rickclark.bsky.social•1 day ago

Of the hundreds who were “disappeared” most had no known criminal records, certainly far less proven criminal behavior than our 34 count convicted felon in the Oval Office. One man benefits from every privilege, as he behaves like a “shit hole” dictator to others. When will the law apply to him?

joshuajfriedman.com•2 days ago

"Defendants have offered no evidence linking Abrego Garcia to MS-13 or to any terrorist activity. And vague allegations of gang association alone do not supersede the express protections afforded under the INA."

joshuajfriedman.com•2 days ago

Judge Xinis describes the Salvadoran prison CECOT, where the US sent Abrego Garcia and many others, as "a notorious supermax prison known for widespread human rights violations" where prisoners are "held in some of the most inhumane and squalid conditions known in any carceral system."

spinsnstitches.bsky.social•2 days ago

chances are DOJ are going to fight like hell as they do not want this man to be able to report how horrific this place is

weebeastie.bsky.social•2 days ago

Assuming he is still alive...

atriana.bsky.social•2 days ago

oh crap.

joshuajfriedman.com•2 days ago

More pointed skepticism from Judge Xinis about Abrego Garcia's supposed association with MS-13

joshuajfriedman.com•2 days ago

The Trump administration "cling[s] to the stunning proposition that they can forcibly remove any person—migrant and U.S. citizen alike—to prisons outside the United States, and then baldly assert they have no way to effectuate return."

filthyjasminetea.bsky.social•2 days ago

The strategy is to defy the court orders while tying them up with excuses and filing bombs and long practised delay tactics. Then the Supreme Court will bail them out and render legal the illegal.

nobirdnonet.bsky.social•2 days ago

They are wrong.

trurl2020.bsky.social•2 days ago

Not sure how it works as a legal argument, but on a moral scale, "it would mean the U.S. could kidnap anyone and deport them to a foreign hellhole without any review, recourse or consequence" is quite the position for the DoJ to argue. Presumably Reuven has had enough.

katphxaz.bsky.social•2 days ago

Unsatisfactory is the understatement description of Regime-47.

joshuajfriedman.com•2 days ago

"Defendants have produced *no evidence* to suggest they cannot secure one such detainee, Abrego Garcia, for return to the United States. Equally important, to credit Defendants' argument would permit the unfettered relinquishment of any person regardless of immigration status or citizenship."

ethanhunter.bsky.social•2 days ago

Love living in the era of cartoon villains who couldn’t solve a TV Guide crossword

joshuajfriedman.com•2 days ago

Judge Xinis repeatedly cites Nayib Bukele's and Marco Rubio's X/Twitter posts about the US's use of CECOT for "a fair price" and "pennies on the dollar" to illustrate that El Salvador is providing the US a paid service and that the US by all appearances continues to control the imprisonment

misterjones.bsky.social•2 days ago

What does the "pennies on the dollar" footnote say?
(I'm wondering if it gives monetary details of the transaction we've made with El Salvador.)

jenpoll.bsky.social•2 days ago

EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN ABDUCTED BY THIS REGIME AND SENT TO A FOREIGN CONCENTRATION CAMP SHOULD BE RETURNED!!!

jise.bsky.social•2 days ago

... Next (hopefully) Administration should use this legal theory to deport whole Trump administration.. "Oh sorry, they are all jailed in Greenland and we can't get them back"

chanosky.bsky.social•2 days ago

This is going to make the history books, shocking future generations to a no lesser degree than some of nazi Germany’s atrocities. More so with some other sacred human rights abuses that seem to be coming our way. From what we were raised to believe was the shining “city upon a hill”, of all places.

jerseytigerfan.bsky.social•2 days ago

Why hasn’t anyone been held in contempt and detained?

Heck, then maybe we can do a prisoner swap!

fishmamaw.bsky.social•1 day ago

So we are paying for the disappeared to that prison. Stop paying for illegal detention!

darbyz.bsky.social•2 days ago

I thought Tramp could do whatever he wants, according to him. If that is the case, he can just make a phone call and secure his release.

realindependent.bsky.social•2 days ago

Trump says if a US citizen is accidentally scooped up and sent to a foreign gulag prison they will not lift a finger to get you back.

Trump is saying he could care less about US citizens.

nancyspantsbelt.bsky.social•2 days ago

This regime is utter lawlessness.👹

geoff923.bsky.social•2 days ago

Do we know who is sitting as th3 4th circuit special panel for April?

milkweed.bsky.social•2 days ago

As far as I can tell the 4th Circuit has one emergency motions judge and identity is not on PACER.

joshuajfriedman.com•2 days ago

I was under the impression that a three-judge panel would review the emergency motion unless a single judge was specifically requested (and I didn't see such a request on the docket) https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/docs/rules/rule27.pdf

milkweed.bsky.social•2 days ago

Got it, I had assumed DOJ would request it in the interests of speed. But since the 4th is not very Trumpy, and they want a good excuse to violate the order, makes sense.

eggczar.bsky.social•2 days ago

This reads to me like she knows there's no chance the administration will obey her order and she wants to set up cause for sanctions

redelvisbebop.bsky.social•2 days ago

MAGA is fine with illegally taking already obligated money away from programs feeding children, but they won't even threaten to end their arrangement with El Salvador to get one innocent person released. They should be getting hammered on this every single day by the press and asked to explain that.

crisnoa.bsky.social•2 days ago

This was a blatant breach of Law and Order. No reasonable judge should over rule Judge Xinis's order!

sdejarn.bsky.social•2 days ago

This opinion makes me feel better about the legal profession--just wish Skadden, et al. could grow a spine too.

sbpnw.bsky.social•2 days ago

It looks like Congress will need to impeach 3 or 4 dozen judges, post haste.

bramacosta.bsky.social•2 days ago

Loved reading this. We need more court decisions like this. I’m a professor of Literature and philosophy and so my bread and butter also consists of close reading and textual analysis.

lynn0908.bsky.social•2 days ago

What judges are on the fourth circuit? When are they ruling?

blessyourheart32.bsky.social•2 days ago

60 Minutes is saying I believe only 14 of the entire group sent down there had records for violent crimes like murder & rape.
For over 100+ they couldn't find any criminal records.
The guy interviewed said it's very possible many innocent people were sent there that may never get out.
No words.

hoobajoob.bsky.social•2 days ago

📌

ericcarbone.bsky.social•2 days ago

Joshua
Thanks for covering this. Thoughts on when we could see responses?

joshuajfriedman.com•2 days ago

https://bsky.app/profile/joshuajfriedman.com/post/3lm347ugvbs2v

ericcarbone.bsky.social•2 days ago

ty!

bill1950.bsky.social•1 day ago

LOCK SOMEBODY UP!!

tonysomo.bsky.social•2 days ago

Your ongoing updates are terrific.
Thank you so much!

teepiieh.bsky.social•2 days ago

I second this sentiment. All the legal reporters I follow here are tremendous at what they do! Thank you and to your peers, Mr. Friedman.

mrdobalina.bsky.social•2 days ago

So what do we do if the 4th circuit overrules, it goes to supreme Court and they also block etc? Do we have to assume that we just can't trust the courts? What's the next step then?

theverdict.bsky.social•2 days ago

“By any means necessary.”

safetypup.bsky.social•2 days ago

The verdict was due at 5. Any word?

petersagal.bsky.social•2 days ago

Josh, is an opinion by a judge responding to an appeal to a higher court of her prior decision unusual?

joshuajfriedman.com•2 days ago

The sequence was a bit unusual, which gives a misleading impression: ideally the judge would have released her opinion setting out her reasoning at about the same time that she released her bare-bones order. In this case it seems to have taken her a few days to write it up. 1/n

joshuajfriedman.com•2 days ago

It's also normal for the losing party to ask the judge to reconsider (naturally, the judge usually says no) before appealing to a higher court. So this is a late opinion explaining an order that's been out for a few days, and the judge is also using it to deny the motion for reconsideration. 2/2

joshuajfriedman.com•2 days ago

(Here's the memorandum opinion immediately followed by the judge denying the motion for reconsideration on the docket)

victorytwin.bsky.social•2 days ago

when the courts rescind the Alien Enemies Act this would make these rulings a lot easier and stop these kidnappings 🤬🤬

nycchiphx.bsky.social•2 days ago

The cruelty of this is not native to America. This is Russia. This is Belarus.

Three months in and I don’t recognize our country.

bearjewesquire.bsky.social•2 days ago

I'm certain the govt only filed the motion to stay here to avoid the procedural issue also raised by one of the judges in the DC Circuit in the JGG case ("why didn't you ask the district court for a stay before coming to us?"

joshuajfriedman.com•2 days ago

Right, you're supposed to "exhaust your remedies" with the lower court

slrry.bsky.social•2 days ago

Government counsel was fired for his candor. Insane.

howlofminerva.bsky.social•2 days ago

You didn't ask me :) but she didn't respond to the filing of an appeal.

Rather, her April 4 Order (which obviously must issue prior to an appeal of it) stated on pg 2 that she would issue a fuller opinion, explaining her decision.

Issuing the order was urgent; reasoning took a bit more time.

tommyz34.bsky.social•2 days ago

It feels like they're going to set up an "accident" for him rather than bring him back and then just shrug at the judge.

helenaclaire.bsky.social•2 days ago

I'm afraid that's already happened and that's why they are fighting so hard.

Sending an innocent man into such a place, to his death, is the kind of thing that brings down people like Bondi and Noem.

And during the season of Lent.

weebeastie.bsky.social•2 days ago

I was assuming the same thing. 😢