Senior DOJ Officials Put on Leave Amid Fallout From Unlawful Deportation Case

Erez Reuveni, the acting deputy director of the Department of Justice’s Office of Immigration Litigation, has been put on paid administrative leave, according to sources familiar with the situation who spoke with ABC News. This is due to his ‘failure to zealously advocate’ for the Trump administration’s legal arguments in a contentious immigration case.

Attorney General Pam Bondi officially confirmed the decision in a Saturday statement: “At my direction, all Department of Justice lawyers are charged with zealously representing the United States. Any lawyer who does not comply with this direction will face disciplinary action.”

Reason for Suspension

Reuveni’s suspension is linked to the legal battle involving Salvadoran immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongfully deported despite a court order preventing his removal. A US District Court judge, Paula Xinis, sharply criticized the deportation, calling Garcia’s detention ‘wholly lawless’.

Garcia had been residing in Maryland with his US citizen wife and had a valid work permit. Notwithstanding this, the Trump administration deported him and subsequently claimed that it did not have the authority to recover him from another country. The government has now appealed the order of the judge, which directed Garcia to be returned to the US by Monday.

At a court hearing on Friday, Reuveni seemed unable to offer straightforward legal justification for Garcia’s deportation and arrest. Venting his own frustration, he advised the judge, “Your honor, my response to a lot of these questions is going to be frustrating, and I’m also frustrated that I have no answers for you on a lot of these questions.”

Bondi, during an interview with Fox News on Sunday, said that Reuveni was no longer part of the Garcia case or the general operations of the DOJ. She continued, “He shouldn’t have taken the case. He shouldn’t have argued it, if that’s what he was going to do. You have to vigorously argue on behalf of your client.”

Also put on administrative leave was August Flentje, the supervisor of Reuveni, according to ABC News accounts. The action comes as outrage grows over mishandling of the case.

Earlier, the Trump administration conceded in court that Garcia was deported in defiance of a court order. Though no criminal charges are filed against him, officials have asserted—without proof—that Garcia is associated with a criminal gang, charges his lawyers categorically deny.

Judge Xinis, in the decision, stated that there were ‘no legal grounds for his arrest, detention or removal’ and underscored the fact that there was no criminal complaint outstanding in El Salvador.