Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s attorneys were scheduled to appear in court next week to argue that their client should be released from immigration detention because of the Trump administration’s “gamesmanship.”
Officials could have deported Abrego “immediately” to Costa Rica without much legal recourse, but they insisted upon punishing him by threatening to send him to Eswatini, the last absolute monarchy in Africa, according to a recent motion.
On independent journalist Allison Gill’s “Daily Beans” podcast, we previewed an upcoming hearing scheduled for Monday.
Those proceedings might now be in doubt because of the government shutdown.
In a letter on Wednesday, Trump’s Justice Department asked to pause all deadlines in Abrego’s case: “Absent an appropriation, Department of Justice attorneys and employees of the federal Defendants are prohibited from working, even on a voluntary basis, except in very limited circumstances, including ‘emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property.’”
Abrego’s attorneys did not consent to a pause.
Look out for an update soon.
