From the FT:
I think some people are misinterpreting the SCOTUS ruling and opinion. They reversed the district court in the fact that is seemed the district court order compelled the president to negotiate for his release or force the president to produce the guy. That was specifically what they said the lower court needed to clarify because as it was stated in the district court order they said the district court may be overstepping their authority.
They seemed to agree that the court could order them to “facilitate” his return but could not compel Trump to repatriate him.
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While this could go in the DOGE thread, the reason I’m posting it here is this passage:
Have you read the SCOTUS ruling? It is not long. According to the ruling, “Due to the administrative stay issued by The Chief Justice, the deadline imposed by the District Court has now passed. To that extent, the Government’s emergency application is effectively granted in part and the deadline in the challenged order is no longer effective. The rest of the District Court’s order remains in effect but required clarification…”
So the only reason it was granted in part and denied in part was because the deadline of Monday, April 7th of the original order is no longer effective. Every other part of the lower court’s order “remains in effect.” The justices did clarify that the “facilitating” requirement is definitely valid, and the “effectuating” requirement while not reversed, should be clarified if it is intended to stand.
On March 15, 2025, the United States removed Kilmar
Armando Abrego Garcia from the United States to El Salvador, where he is currently detained in the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT). The United States acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was subject to a withholding
order forbidding his removal to El Salvador, and that the
removal to El Salvador was therefore illegal. The United
States represents that the removal to El Salvador was the
result of an “administrative error.” The United States alleges, however, that Abrego Garcia has been found to be a
member of the gang MS–13, a designated foreign terrorist
organization, and that his return to the United States
would pose a threat to the public. Abrego Garcia responds
that he is not a member of MS–13, and that he has lived
safely in the United States with his family for a decade and
has never been charged with a crime.
On Friday, April 4, the United States District Court for
the District of Maryland entered an order directing the Government to “facilitate and effectuate the return of [Abrego
Garcia] to the United States by no later than 11:59 PM on
Monday, April 7.” On the morning of April 7, the United
States filed this application to vacate the District Court’s
order. THE CHIEF JUSTICE entered an administrative stay
and subsequently referred the application to the Court.
The application is granted in part and denied in part,
subject to the direction of this order. Due to the administrative stay issued by THE CHIEF JUSTICE, the deadline imposed by the District Court has now passed. To that extent,
the Government’s emergency application is effectively
granted in part and the deadline in the challenged order is
no longer effective. The rest of the District Court’s order
remains in effect but requires clarification on remand. The
order properly requires the Government to “facilitate”
Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to
ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had
he not been improperly sent to El Salvador. The intended
scope of the term “effectuate” in the District Court’s order
is, however, unclear, and may exceed the District Court’s
authority. The District Court should clarify its directive,
with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive
Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs. For its part, the
Government should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further
steps. The order heretofore entered by THE CHIEF JUSTICE
is vacated
IANAL but… the bolded sounds like wiggle room.
Maybe not as much wiggle room as Trump is claiming, but a lot of unsettled wiggle room.
Yes, I read it.
It seemed they were saying that the “effectuating” may exceed the District Court’s authority. As SV says above, that is where the government is claiming wiggle room. I haven’t seen how the judge clarified the use of effectuate but it does seem that the judge has not compelled and can’t compel the government to produce Abrego Garcia. If he was in their custody then I think the “effectuate” probably would have also been upheld.
While I understand the reasoning as I have heard it explained, I still think (my opinion IANAL) that the government has contracted with another country to detain someone and as such should be able to ask the other country to return him or the contract would be null and void? But I don’t know that the court can compel the government to do that since that is diplomacy with another country which is under the sole control of the president.
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I’m not sure, but I seem to recall hearing the judge clarified the use of the word “effectuate” by removing the word “effectuate” from their order, to be fair.
Still seems like the government has not “facilitated” a return since El Salvador is under the impression the US would not allow the return, but I, of course, am not a lawyer either.
I thought one of the articles I read said the government’s lawyer said they had removed all impediments to him reentering the country if he were released and attempted to reenter. Doesn’t sound like they are going to send a plane for him even if he were to be released in El Salvador. And what the Dictator President of El Salvador said seemed pretty stupid.
Another lawyer said they had somehow decided that he fit a definition which would disqualify him from the “don’t deport” order so they could still deport him, though I would think the current judge’s order and the SCOTUS decisions would require them to go before a judge anyway.
The court cannot compel El Salvador to return him. But they can, and have, compelled the US government to ask El Salvador to return him, and have also asked the government whether or not they have done so or are planning to do so. The government has declined to answer those questions. Hence the escalation to sworn depositions that increase the odds of resulting in contempt charges.
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I wonder if Harvard knows any good lawyers to challenge the IRS should they act on those plans.
Left leaning source, but the interesting part is the direct quote from Newsmax.
White House counterterror czar Sebastian Gorka said today that Americans who are not on board with the Trump administration’s immigration policy are “on the side of terrorists."
“It’s really quite that simple,” Gorka said in a little-noticed interview with Newsmax. “We have people who love America, like the president, like his cabinet, like the directors of his agencies, who want to protect Americans. And then there is the other side, that is on the side of the cartel members, on the side of the illegal aliens, on the side of the terrorists.”
He didn’t stop there, going on to say this is tantamount to “aiding and abetting” — which he called a crime under federal law.
“And you have to ask yourself, are they technically aiding and abetting them?” Gorka continued. “Because aiding and abetting criminals and terrorists is a crime in federal statute.”
Yikes.
Who could have seen this coming?
When some of the nation’s biggest law firms agreed to deals with President Trump, the terms appeared straightforward: In return for escaping the full force of his retribution campaign, the firms would do some free legal work on behalf of largely uncontroversial causes like helping veterans.
Mr. Trump, it turns out, has a far more expansive view of what those firms can be called on to do.
This is frightening. Didn’t realize this guy slipped into a cabinet position. He’s an absolute nightmare in this role.
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What cabinet position does he hold?
Being a member of the president’s staff doesn’t make one a cabinet member. And this guy is a Deputy Assistant to the President. He is quite a way down from cabinet level.
