Justice Department prosecutor who admitted in court Maryland man's deportation to El Salvador was a mistake put on leave
The Justice Department attorney who unsuccessfully argued Friday in defense of the controversial and mistaken deportation of a Maryland man to El Salvador has been placed on administrative leave, CBS News learned Saturday.
During a federal hearing Friday in Greenbelt, Maryland, in which U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Kilmar Abrego Garcia must be returned to the U.S. by April 7, Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni frequently failed to answer Xinis' questions, and made multiple critical comments of his agency in court, saying he wasn't given sufficient information by the Justice Department for some of Friday's arguments.
"The facts are conceded, plaintiff Abrego Garcia should not have been removed," Reuveni said during the hearing.
"There is no warrant for his arrest. There is no statement of probable cause," Judge Paula Xinis stated. "What is the actual document that got this process started?"
Reuveni responded, "I do not have that order. It is not in the record."
When further questioned about why the government is not able to return Abrego Garcia, Reuveni said he "asked the government the same question," and did not receive an answer.
Reuveni argued the case Friday after being promoted on March 21 to acting deputy director of the Justice Department Office of Immigration Litigation.
In a statement provided to CBS News Saturday about the move, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said, "At my direction, every Department of Justice attorney is required to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States. Any attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences."
Also Saturday, Justice Department attorneys filed documents asking Xinis to stay her order demanding that Abrego Garcia be returned to the U.S. by midnight Monday as the appeals process plays out.
Last week, the Trump administration admitted in a court filing that it had mistakenly sent Abrego Garcia to El Salvador as part of three March 15 deportation flights of hundreds of alleged Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gang members under its invocation of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
The Trump administration acknowledged in its court filing that Abrego Garcia's deportation was an "administrative error" since an immigration judge in 2019 had granted him legal protection from being sent to El Salvador due to the risk he faced of persecution from gangs if deported to El Salvador.
The March 15 deportees are being held in El Salvador's notorious maximum-security prison known as CECOT.
The Trump administration has argued, without providing evidence, that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13. Abrego Garcia came to the U.S. in 2011 when he was 16.
His wife, a U.S. citizen, told CBS News in an interview this week that her husband is "not a criminal" and refuted the Trump administration's claims that he is part of a gang.
"My husband is an amazing person," she said. "An amazing father."
