Quick Updates on Abrego Garcia and the Other Men Sent to El Salvador
One of the cases regarding Abrego Garcia moved into discovery today and that judge is considering whether to hold the government in contempt over their refusal to show what actions they are taking to return Abrego Garcia to the United States. Expect this case to move rapidly.
Justice Department lawyers have laughably maintained that since these men were sent to El Salvador, the US is powerless to do anything to have them returned. They have a problem because their client is Donald Trump. In an interview yesterday, he said he can seek Abrego Garcia’s return if Attorney General Bondi tells him he can. Aside from the fact that the president does not need permission from the attorney general to do anything, this undercuts the argument that the US government cannot do anything.
All of these renditions to El Salvador have been under some… creative… interpretations of the Alien Enemies Act. The AEA was part of a package of laws signed by John Adams. Adams himself recognized these laws were racist and likely unconstitutional. Most of them were repealed but the AEA was not.
The AEA is for removing people from the government in the event of war. You may notice that the United States is not at war. To circumvent this, the government is saying that Tren de Aragua is an arm of the Venezuelan government and that MS-13 is likewise part of the El Salvadoran government. They then argue that these gang activities count as a foreign nation invading the United States.
Yeah.
Let’s ignore for the moment that the US has done a deal with the very country they say has invaded us by proxy via gang members or how nonsensical the entire argument is. They have a new problem.
In a newly released memo, the US intelligence community made the determination that the Venezuelan government has absolutely nothing to do with Tren de Aragua. Expect this memo to enter the relevant court cases.
We now know the identity of a SECOND man renditioned to El Salvador despite a court order saying he could not be sent to El Salvador. Multiple men were sent there despite court orders saying they may not be. Multiple men there now have court orders saying the government must return them. While it is terrifying the government has simply ignored these court orders because these men are not white, I believe this ultimately ends with their return to the United States.
In multiple areas just over the past week, the White House has backed down on actions after immediate public backlash. I recognize I say this as a middle-aged cishet white man who has little to risk, but America has not fallen. Trump is a bully and like all bullies, he is ultimately a coward. The master negotiator actually caves frequently in the face of resistance.
That is not to say things aren’t bad or that they will not get worse. We’re just at the beginning here. But do not give up hope. We are going to fight this man until he is out of office and very often…
We will win.
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