Judge Rejects Government’s Third-Country Plan
Judge Xinis said the government’s argument “fell flat” when it became clear that no African country ever agreed to take him, while Costa Rica confirmed it was willing to accept his return. She wrote that ICE had kept him detained “absent a lawful removal order,” and the government’s months of inconsistent conduct undermined the claim that his detention served any legitimate removal purpose.
“Because Ábrego García has been held in ICE detention to effectuate third-country removal absent a lawful removal order, his requested relief is proper,” she concluded, adding that the government’s actions showed his detention “has been for something other than effectuating removal.”
Legal Teams on Both Sides
Ábrego García is represented by Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg and Rina Gandhi of Murray Osorio PLLC, along with a large legal team from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, including Stephen E. Frank, Jonathan G. Cooper, Olivia Horton, Andrew J. Rossman, Sascha N. Rand, K. McKenzie Anderson, Samuel P. Nitze, Courtney C. Whang, Roey Goldstein, Sam Heavenrich and Morgan L. Anastasio.
The U.S. government is represented by Drew Ensign, Ernesto Molina and Jonathan D. Guynn of the U.S. Department of Justice.
