A Justice Department attorney who struggled in court on Friday to explain the Trump administration’s deportation of a Maryland man to El Salvador has been placed on administrative leave, a department official said.
At the hearing, the government attorney, Erez Reuveni, expressed frustration over not having information the judge was seeking in the case of the deported man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and made clear he had was not getting much help from his superiors.
Abrego Garcia “should not have been removed,” he said, adding that he didn’t know why Garcia was ever arrested. “I am also frustrated that I also have no answers for you on a lot of these questions,” he said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement following the news that Reuveni had been placed on leave, “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.”
Reuveni did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The action caps off another week of friction between the judicial branch and the Trump administration, which some judges have blasted for its litigation tactics.
When asked Friday by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis if he had any evidence that showed why Abrego Garcia was arrested, Reuveni said, “The absence of evidence speaks for itself.” He added, “The government made a choice here to produce no evidence.”
When asked by Xinis why the U.S. couldn’t, practically speaking, get Abrego Garcia back to the U.S., Reuveni said he had the same question.
He said that when the case landed on his desk, “the first thing I did was ask my client the same question. I have not yet received an answer that I find satisfactory.”
Abrego Garcia was deported to an infamous El Salvador prison on March 15. He is a protected legal resident and had been living in Maryland since 2011.
In court filings Monday, the government said Abrego Garcia was deported due to an “administrative error.”
Abrego Garcia filed suit last week demanding to be returned to the U.S., but Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem argued that the government does not have the authority to demand Abrego Garcia — who is originally from El Salvador — be returned.
Still, Xinis ruled Friday that the government must return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. by Monday at 11:59 p.m.
Administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have claimed that Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member. Abrego Garcia’s lawyer has said that he does not have a criminal record in the U.S. or El Salvador, and fled El Salvador to escape gang violence.
An immigration judge specifically barred Abrego Garcia from being returned to El Salvador in 2019, saying it was “more likely than not that he would be persecuted” in the country.
The Trump administration argued Saturday that Xinis did not have the authority to “engage with a foreign power” and demand Abrego Garcia’s return. It asked the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to pause Xinis’ order, and additionally asked Xinis to pause her own ruling while appeals are underway.
Reuveni’s name was not listed on the government’s Saturday afternoon motion to stay Xinis’ order.
Matt Lavietes contributed.
