Kilmer Abrego Garcia We face an uncertain future.
The Trump administration wants to deport him Eswatini’s African Country. I want to do Abrego Garcia Apply for asylum Staying in the US
Both paths can be started with a long journey through the legal system.
Abrego Garcia, 30, It has become a flash point When President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown was on him He was accidentally deported to his native country, El Salvador. The Trump administration claimed he was a member of the MS-13 gang. This is an allegation that Abrego Garcia denied and that he was not charged.
administration Abrego Garcia has been returned to the US June, but only faces human smuggling fees. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers call the case a ridiculous vindictive.
Abrego Garcia was Released from Tennessee State Jail To await his trial last month. He was Acquired immigration custody Three days later he remains in Virginia Detention Center.
Next, let’s see what happens next.
The fear of other countries
Trump administration I proposed sending Abrego Garcia to Eswatini That’s because he cannot legally send him to El Salvador.
According to court documents, Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador around 2011. Abrego Garcia had settled in Maryland without a document to join his brother, who had become a US citizen.
One day in 2019, Abrego Garcia sought work as a day-long worker outside Home Depot. The secret informant told police that Abrego Garcia and other men outside the store were on MS-13 for clothing and tattoos, according to court documents.
Abrego Garcia was never charged, but was handed over to immigrants and customs enforcement. He applied for asylum but was denied because his request came after more than a year after he entered the US.
However, the immigration judge granted protection from deportation to El Salvador after demonstrating that Abrego Garcia had a well-founded fear of the persecution of the gang there.
Six years later, early in the second Trump administration, Ice sent Abrego Garcia to the infamous El Salvador prison, violating the immigration judge’s orders. Following the Supreme Court order, the Trump administration returned him to the United States, only to face allegations of human smuggling.
The Trump administration last month said it was planning to deport him to Uganda, Africa. Abrego Garcia Notified the US government He fears concerns of persecution and fears of being sent to El Salvador.
Last Friday, the Trump administration said it was planning to deport him now. Eswatini.
The letter from the ice stated that his fears were “hard to take seriously, especially considering that he claimed (through his lawyers) fearing persecution and torture in at least 22 different countries.”
Trump Immigration Court
The United States is supposed to follow a multi-stage process of deporting someone to a country that is not their home country, according to immigration lawyers.
For example, immigration officers are supposed to conduct reasonable horror interviews where Abrego Garcia can raise concerns about persecution and torture. If the officer disagrees, Abrego Garcia can ask the immigration judge to consider the decision. From there, Abrego Garcia can go to the Immigration Appeals Committee.
Immigration judges are part of the Justice Department and are under the authority of the Trump administration. Trump has fired immigration judges, many of whom were appointed by former President Joe Biden as part of his immigration crackdown.
However, Abrego Garcia can challenge the Immigration Appeals Committee’s decision in federal courts, which is part of the country’s independent judiciary.
“You can’t beat every case.”
Even if Abrego Garcia stops Esvatini from deporting him, he will face an attempt to take him to another country, according to Memphis-based Memphis. Immigration Attorney Andrew Rankin.
“By the law of average, you can’t beat every case,” he said.
However, exile could only focus on El Salvador, where Abrego Garcia had previously shown credible fears about gang persecution.
Abrego Garcia has filed a motion to resume the 2019 immigration case and apply for asylum. His lawyers would argue that he is eligible because he was in the US within a year, Rankin said.
Asylum can provide you with a path to green cards and citizenship. But he is taking a risk, Rankin said. If Abrego Garcia loses his bid, the immigration judge can rule out his protection from being returned to El Salvador.
“Configuring the Traffic Court”
Claims to resume the Abrego Garcia immigration case are still pending. If it is denied, he can appeal to the Immigration Appeals Committee. From there he can go to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.
If he is allowed to request asylum, he will gain hearing. His lawyers and the government can present evidence and call witnesses.
“The very famous proverb about immigration courts is, “The immigration courts have the effect of the death penalty on the setting of traffic courts,” said lawyer Rankin.
For example, immigration judges have much broader discretion in terms of scheduling, recognition of evidence and issuing judgments, Rankin said. There is little consistency between individual immigration courts.
“Traffic courts decide on speeding tickets, which most often affect the purpose of the insurance,” Rankin said. “On the other hand, the immigration courts decide in this particular case whether someone dies or whether they will remain in the US.”
The Attorney General can control
Attorney General Pam Bondy has the authority to decide on the Abrego Garcia immigration case as head of the Justice Department, immigration experts say. Such decisions are rare, but the Trump administration has shown an eagerness to break precedents.
Abrego Garcia’s attorney in a Tennessee criminal case criticizes what they say as a statement of bias and argues they cannot get a fair criminal trial.
Ohio State University law professor César Cuauhté moc García Hernández said the hypothetical ruling from Bondi is likely likely to be appealed to the Fourth Circuit.
He said the smartest thing for Bondi is to “work with a good group of Justice Department lawyers trying to explain the de facto basis for your conclusion.”
Rankin, a Memphis lawyer, said Abrego Garcia’s lawyers are likely to attack Bondi’s decision to deport him as a “political hit job.”
“This will destroy the credibility that it is the prosecution of the American people and not the prosecution of Donald Trump,” Rankin said.
