“This was an illegal act,” U.S. Federal District Judge Paula Xinis told Justice Department lawyers at a federal court hearing in Greenbelt, Maryland about the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who lived in the U.S. legally and had a work permit. Abrego Garcia was arrested and deported last month — despite having been granted protection by an immigration judge in 2019 that should have prevented him from being deported to El Salvador.

Judge Xinis ordered the government to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, April 7. She said keeping him in El Salvador constitutes irreparable harm.

“From the moment he was seized, it was unconstitutional,” Judge Xinis said during the hearing. “If there isn’t a document, a warrant, a statement of probable cause, then there is no basis to have seized him in the first place. That’s how I’m looking at it,” the judge said.

  • Kairos@lemmy.today
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    19 hours ago

    They said something like “if it’s illegal then they should be arrested” which heavily implies that any illegal thing is an arrestable offense. Which is not the case. I corrected them on this basis only.

    • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works
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      16 hours ago

      And yet you could have just let it go but chose not to.

      This is on you buddy. No one else but you.