Appeals Court Calls Trump’s Defiance ‘Shocking’ In Scathing Ruling

A Reagan-appointed judge tore into the administration for its claim that it can’t do anything to free the man it mistakenly deported to El Salvador.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to appeal a court order directing it to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

“The government asserts that Abrego Garcia is a terrorist and member of MS-13. Perhaps, but perhaps not. Regardless, he is still entitled to due process. If the government is is confident of its position, it should be assured that position will prevail in proceedings to terminate the withholding of removal order. Moreover, the government has conceded that Abrego Garcia was wrongly or ‘mistakenly’ deported. Why then should it not make what was wrong, right?” Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson wrote Thursday.

Wilkinson is an appointee of President Ronald Reagan.

Abrego Garcia, 29, was a sheet metal worker who had lived in Maryland with his wife and three children until he was abruptly deported and sent to CECOT, a prison in El Salvador.

His attorneys have vehemently denied claims that he is a criminal. While living in the U.S., he has not been convicted of any crimes.