Bluesky Feed - Abrego Garcia

did that State Dept official hear President Trump say yesterday that he was perfectly able to bring Abrego Garcia back to the US?

Joshua J. Friedman@joshuajfriedman.com

NEW: A US State Department official tells Judge Xinis that Kilmar Abrego Garcia is alive and being held in the CECOT prison, "detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador" storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

DECLARATION OF MICHAEL G. KOZAK
I, Michael G. Kozak, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, declare under penalty of perjury as follows:
I am Senior Bureau Official in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, United
States Department of State. As Senior Bureau Official, I am a member of the Senior Executive Service responsible for, among other things, coordination of the conduct of our diplomatic activities in the countries of the Western Hemisphere. Before that, I was Senior Coordinator for
Afghan Refugees in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration of the United States Department of State and have held various other roles in the Department of State since 1971.
I am aware that the instant lawsuit has been filed seeking the return of Kilmar
Armando Abrego Garcia to the United States from El Salvador. I provide this declaration based on
my personal knowledge, reasonable inquiry, and information obtained from other State
Department employees.

It is my understanding based on official reporting from our Embassy in San
Salvador that Abrego Garcia is currently being held in the Terrorism Confinement Center in El
Salvador. He is alive and secure in that facility. He is detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed this 12th day of April 2025.
442-
Michael G. Kozak
Senior Bureau Official

Defeat No Option

@trumpstenacity.bsky.social

Sure. Or El Salvadoran citizen Abrego Garcia could have been secretly removed from prison by his own government and set free in the jungles of El Salvador to live on iguanas, piranhas, spiders, & rain water. Which do you think is true? The Supreme Court doesn't know. Nor the DOJ.

Proudly Blue@proudlyblue.bsky.social

It could be that Abrego Garcia has committed suicide or has already been raped to death.

karlkoons3

@karlkoons3.bsky.social

tRump "is now brazenly ignoring the crystal clear import and goal of the Court’s order which is not to facilitate merely the return of Mr. Abrego Garcia, but his 'release from custody in El Salvador' talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/bukel...

talkingpointsmemo.com

Bukele’s Offense Against the American People

Here’s how I look at today’s White House spectacle. I don’t really...

Jennie

@angrybooklady.bsky.social

Do we know that Abrego Garcia is alive?

Jim Frank

@jimfrank.bsky.social

"The Trump Administration is lying about Abrego Garcia"

Scott MacFarlane@macfarlanenews.bsky.social

Speaking now from El Salvador, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) says he was denied access to Kilmar Abrego Garcia by El Salvador leaders. And was denied a phone call to him Van Hollen: "The Trump Administration is lying about Abrego Garcia"

@totruth.bsky.social

Can we get proof of life for Abrego Garcia, please!!!!

@rainofclones.bsky.social

End of thread re: Abrego Garcia - result: 2 weeks for discovery & depositions.

Anna Bower@annabower.bsky.social

And that's it. Hearing over. There will be an expedited discovery period, with depositions set to be completed by 4/23.

@aspi5.bsky.social

@annabower.bsky.social thanks for a great thread on the Innis hearing re: Abrego Garcia.

Mark Jacob

@markjacob.bsky.social

29 days ago

The Trump regime again defies Judge Xinis’ order in the Abrego Garcia case. How long will the federal courts tolerate Trump’s lawless behavior? The courts’ permissiveness endangers the freedom of all of us.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social

NEW: DOJ doubles down on refusing to follow Judge Xinis's orders. Today's status report contains nothing new. It again fails to provide information about steps they're taking to bring Mr. Abrego back), and arguably violates her command that a declaration be made by someone with personal knowledge.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND (Greenbelt Division) KILMAR ARMANDO ABREGO GARCIA, et al., Plaintiffs, v. KRISTI NOEM, Secretary of Homeland Security, et al., Defendants No. 8:25-cv-00951-PX Declaration Of Assistant Director Evan C. Katz DECLARATION OF EVAN C. KATZ I, Evan C. Katz, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, declare under penalty of perjury as follows: 1. I am Assistant Director for the Removal Division, within the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). 2. In this capacity, I am responsible for leading the division, which is composed of ICE Air Operations, International Operations, and Removal Management. I coordinate with the 25 ERO Field Offices to support case management and facilitate the removal of aliens from the United States. I have held this position since December 2023. Before this assignment, I served as the Acting Assistant Director for the Removal Division from January 2023 to November 2023 and Deputy Assistant Director for the Removal Division from January 2015 to December 2022. I have been in service with ICE since 2003 and prior to that, the Legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service since November 1997.

3. I provide this declaration based on my personal knowledge, reasonable inquiry, and information obtained from various records, systems, databases, other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees, and information portals maintained and relied upon by DHS in the regular course of business. 4. I am aware that the instant lawsuit has been filed regarding the removal of Kilmer Armando Abrego-Garcia (Abrego-Garcia) to El Salvador. 5. I am aware that after this Court’s preliminary injunction issued, that the Government sought a stay pending appeal from the Fourth Circuit on the same day and ultimately the Supreme Court. On March 7, Chief Justice Roberts issued an administrative stay of that preliminary injunction order. On March 10, the Supreme Court held that “the deadline in the challenged order is no longer effective” and that aspects of this Court’s injunction needed to be clarified before they could become effective. 6. During proceedings in 2019, an immigration judge upheld DHS’s decision not to grant bond, finding that DHS’s determination that he was a member of MS-13 was “trustworthy” and “supported by other evidence,” and noted that Abrego-Garcia “failed to present evidence to rebut that assertion.” The Board of Immigration Appeals upheld the finding when Abrego-Garcia appealed. 7. On March 15, 2025, Abrego-Garcia, a native and citizen of El Salvador, was removed to El Salvador, pursuant to Title 8 of the United States Code. Although Abrego-Garcia has an order of removal issued by an immigration judge, I understand that he should not have been removed to El Salvador because the immigration judge had also granted Abrego-Garcia withholding of removal to El Salvador. However, I also understand that Abrego Garcia is no longer

eligible for withholding of removal because of his membership in MS-13 which is now a designated foreign terrorist organization. 8. I have reviewed the declaration of Mr. Michael Kozak, which was filed in this case yesterday, April 12, 2025. It is my understanding that Defendants have no updates for the Court beyond what was provided yesterday. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed this 13th day of April 2025. ____________________________ Evan C. Katz Assistant Director Enforcement and Removal Operations U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement U.S. Department of Homeland Securit

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BlueBanditJim

@bluebanditjim.bsky.social

Lawfare Live: Court Hearing on the Removal of Abrego Garcia www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...

www.lawfaremedia.org

Lawfare Live: Court Hearing on the Removal of Abrego Garcia

Join the Lawfare team for a live discussion on April 15.

Paula Schaap

@redsonja.bsky.social

My first reaction was one of relief that Abrego Garcia was alive. The second reaction: My government is a terrorist regime that just kidnaps people it doesn't like.

Adam Steinbaugh@adamsteinbaugh.bsky.social

This satisfies part (1) of the order, but does not even take a shot at parts (2) and (3). The order:

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that beginning April 12, 2025, and continuing each day thereafter until further order of the Court, Defendants shall file daily, on or before 5:00 PM ET, a declaration made by an individual with personal knowledge as to any information regarding: (1) the current physical location and custodial status of Abrego Garcia; (2) what steps, if any, Defendants have taken to facilitate his immediate return to the United States; (3) what additional steps Defendants will take, and when, to facilitate his return.

Tired Mama

@tiredmama.bsky.social

Full update on hearing about Abrego Garcia. TLDR: Judge is requiring daily updates and the gov lawyer is stalling.

Anna Bower@annabower.bsky.social

HAPPENING NOW: Following the Supreme Court's decision requiring the government to "facilitate" the release of Abrego Garcia, a hearing before Judge Paula Xinis is about to begin. I'm in Greenbelt, Maryland for @lawfare.bsky.social Follow along for updates

Mephisto Tabernacle

@mephistotabernacle.bsky.social

First, they came for Abrego Garcia, and the MAGAts said "take him." Because anyone still MAGA only hears the off-white name and will believe any criminal allegation attached to it, no matter how many conservative courts rule otherwise.

SMB

@smbdemocracy.bsky.social

“the Trump administration is paying the government of El Salvador to keep [Abrego Garcia] at CECOT” El Salvador VP

Anna Bower@annabower.bsky.social

Van Hollen says that he asked the VP of El Salvador why his government continues to hold Abrego Garcia even though he’s not charged with any crime and there’s no evidence that he’s MS-13. “His answer was that the Trump administration is paying the government of El Salvador to keep him at CECOT”

Michael O’Grady 🇨🇦

@mog7546.bsky.social

Trump II Hits A New All-Time Low In Oval Office Debacle (They LIED) Trump officials chortled, bragged, and postured in front of cameras about never releasing Abrego Garcia. To justify defying the courts, human rights, and basic decency #MOG8 talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...

talkingpointsmemo.com

Trump II Hits A New All-Time Low In Oval Office Debacle

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This...

Shelley English

@shelleyenglish.bsky.social

"Like most of the men rendered to CECOT, Abrego Garcia has fewer criminal convictions than the current president of the US. Even the Trump administration acknowledged in federal court that it had deported Abrego Garcia “in error.”" @adamserwer.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

www.theatlantic.com

The Constitutional Crisis Is Here

Trump’s administration is only pretending to comply with the Supreme Court on the matter of a Maryland man it deported erroneously.

Lainey K

@laineyk.bsky.social

This. The judge basically ordered wellness updates on Abrego Garcia, and we will likely get none. If/When he’s returned home to his family, the Trump administration and Tom “inhuman” Homan won’t want him to talk.

Sciencematters@totoroandscience.bsky.social

Perspective taking is also important. The Trump administration doesn’t want him coming back because he can confirm our worst fears about what is happening down there. El Salvador probably knows this so keeping him alive allows them to extort the US.

@glenncanadian.bsky.social

Glenn here This has become very serious, crazy. Trump says he is now the law in USA. He cares nothing of the American constitution, lawyers or the Supreme Court. Trump claims to be the new world order. I feel sorry for Abrego Garcia, his family, the American people,the Ukrainian people. My thoughts

Ms. Kevin

@kkalmes31.bsky.social

@krassensteinm.bsky.social Pam Bondi once again repeatedly lies about Abrego Garcia, when asked by a journalist to show the American people the evidence that he was MS-13: Pam Bondi is a vile human being. NO JUDGE OF ANY KIND EVER RULED ABREGO GARCIA WAS A PART OF MS-13. She is LYING to US.

Jared Yates Sexton

@jysexton.bsky.social

Every day that Abrego Garcia isn’t returned or accounted for a deep dread grows in me that we’re approaching a moment where we’re going to learn the President of the United States has set up a system of death camps.

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Annie 🇺🇦

@annie53.bsky.social

Just call Scott Fitzgerald’s office. Spoke to John. Don’t think ANY of what I said registered. Bring Abrego Garcia home from the concentration camp in El Salvador! Call your reps. Today!

TovahR 🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈🇵🇸🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️🇺🇲

@tovahr.bsky.social