An Obama judge ordered a suspected MS-13 gang member to be returned to the US from El Salvador, sparking a defiant response from the White House.
On Friday, Judge Paula Xinis ordered the man to be returned to the US by Monday at midnight.
“This was an illegal act,” Judge Paula Xinis told a Justice Department lawyer, according to Politico.
“Congress said you can’t do it, and you did it anyway.”
According to the White House, the man in question, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which has now been designated a terrorist organization. He is said to have been involved in human trafficking. He was apprehended in Maryland last month, before being flown to El Salvador, where he now resides in President Nayib Bukele’s fearsome CECOT prison.
Judge Xinis, however, said that the accusation of gang membership is “just chatter.”
“In a court of law, when someone is accused of membership in such a violent and predatory organization, it comes in the form of an indictment, a complaint, a criminal proceeding that has robust process so we can assess the facts,” Xinis added.
In response to Judge Xinis’s decision, the White House, via Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, issued a defiant statement.
“We suggest the Judge contact President Nayib Bukele because we are unaware of the judge having jurisdiction or authority over the country of El Salvador.”
Rumours that Garcia was not a gang member have been circulating for at least a week. On Tuesday, Leavitt shut down these rumours during a press conference, stating unequivocally that the Trump administration knows Garcia was a member of MS-13 and that he was involved in human trafficking.
“The administration maintains the position that this individual was deported to El Salvador and will not be returning to our country and was a member of the brutal and vicious MS-13 gang.”