Dem
47
GOP
53
Strike one against Kilmar Abrego Garcia is that he is not white. Strike two is that he IS Latino. As far as this administration is concerned, that's two strikes and you're out. There are many non-white groups that are disfavored with this VERY White House, but no group may be lower on the list than Latinos (though we are sure that Stephen Miller just uses the term "Mexicans," regardless of nation of origin). Put another way, if someone had the exact same backstory as Abrego Garcia, but they were white and their name was Kirby Abraham Garner, there is NO WAY this would have been allowed to stretch on and on and on like this.
The administration is still trying to toss Abrego Garcia out of the country, but its efforts suffered a big blow just two days before Christmas. U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Tennessee canceled the January 27 trial date and, instead, ordered an evidentiary hearing on January 28 on a motion to dismiss for vindictive and selective prosecution. The judge found that Abrego Garcia has shown that there is a "realistic likelihood" that the government acted vindictively in bringing the charges, such that the burden of proof now shifts to the Trump administration to "rebut the presumption with objective, on the record explanations for charging Abrego Garcia." If they can't produce sufficient evidence, Crenshaw will dismiss the case.
The defense claims that Donald Trump's Department of Justice only decided to charge him with a crime after U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered DoJ attorneys to provide specific information as to their efforts to return Abrego from CECOT. They also claim that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche personally ordered the U.S. Attorney from Tennessee, Robert McGuire, to charge Abrego and they say they have an e-mail to prove it. Abrego's attorneys have subpoenaed Blanche and others to testify on January 28, but Crenshaw is going to wait and see what evidence the government submits before deciding if that's necessary.
Meanwhile, in Xinis' courtroom, she has kept the Temporary Restraining Order in place, which prohibits immigration officials from detaining Abrego Garcia, until at least December 30, when the government must outline the next steps in his immigration case. Our guess is that now that Crenshaw has ordered discovery and an evidentiary hearing, the DoJ will move quickly to try to deport Abrego Garcia. That could mean that Costa Rica, which has said it is still willing to accept him, might be back on the table. We'll know more after next week, but as of now, he was able to enjoy Christmas with his family. (L)