Deadline: Legal Blog-The Trump administration just made an absurd argument for detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia

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Last edited Wed Jun 25, 2025, 04:57 PM - Edit history (1)

After resisting returning him to the U.S., the government now says it’s worried the government will quickly deport him. Really.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/abrego-garcia-deportation-trump-detention-rcna214951

Which brings us to the absurd argument in the Justice Department’s effort to halt U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes’ ruling. In support of its argument, the DOJ said in a court filing Tuesday that if Abrego is released from criminal custody and “is moved to ICE custody and deported from the United States, the prosecution would lose the meaningful opportunity to try its case. This would be irreparable harm to the public.”

OK. So, to recap, the government illegally sent Abrego to El Salvador in March, then resisted court orders from every level of the judiciary to facilitate his return until finally getting him back into the country this month. And now, having chosen to bring criminal charges against him (he pleaded not guilty), the government suggests that it would be somehow beyond its control if it (the government) winds up deporting him again — and that effectuating such a speedy deportation would irreparably harm the public.

If this sounds incoherent, that’s because it is.

As I noted in connection with Holmes’ rejection of the government’s argument that Abrego is a member of MS-13, if federal prosecutors’ early arguments are a sign of things to come, that could bode well for Abrego’s legal fight.