A senior DOJ immigration lawyer was put on indefinite leave on Saturday after he apologized to a federal judge and appeared unprepared for the hearing in the case of an MS-13 gang member deported to El Salvador’s prison.
On Friday, a federal judge ordered the Trump Administration to return an alleged MS-13 gang member to the United States after he was deported to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison.
US District Judge of the US District Court for the District of Maryland, Paula Xinis, an Obama appointee, ordered the Salvadoran gang member to be returned 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.”
Last week the fake news media reported that the Trump Administration deported a ‘Maryland father’ with protected legal status to El Salvador’s CECOT prison.
The DOJ immigration lawyer repeatedly apologized to the judge during Friday’s hearing and apologized for the Trump Administration’s actions.
Politico reported on the exchange:
In a rare courtroom exchange at Friday’s hearing, the lawyer defending the government in the case expressed exasperation with the administration’s approach and its refusal to respond to his queries.
“I am also frustrated that I have no answer for you on a lot of these questions,” said Erez Reuveni, an assistant director in the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation. “The government made a choice here to produce no evidence.”
…At another point, Reuveni said he’d asked why the U.S. couldn’t seek Abrego Garcia’s return and was rebuffed.
“When this case landed on my desk, I asked my clients that very question. I have not received to date an answer that I find satisfactory,” he said.
Shortly before the judge ruled, the visibly frustrated attorney pleaded with Xinis for 24 hours to try to persuade U.S. officials to try to seek Abrego Garcia’s return without intervention by the court.
“I would ask the court to give us, the defendants, one more chance to do this,” Reuveni said. “That’s my recommendation to my client, but so far that hasn’t happened.”
On Saturday, the DOJ lawyer was put on leave and Pam Bondi made it clear this behavior won’t be tolerated.
A senior Justice Department immigration lawyer was put on indefinite leave Saturday, a DOJ official tells me @NewsNation. Confirming NYT.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche suspended Erez Reuveni, the acting deputy director of the department’s immigration litigation division.
— Kellie Meyer (@KellieMeyerNews) April 5, 2025
“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,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
Attorney General Bondi:
“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.” https://t.co/YXVdVzQYFS— Kellie Meyer (@KellieMeyerNews) April 5, 2025
The post BREAKING: Senior DOJ Immigration Lawyer Put on Leave After Apologizing to Obama Judge Who Ordered Deported MS-13 Gang Member Returned – Pam Bondi Issues Warning appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.