{"id":126136,"date":"2025-07-09T12:28:29","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T20:28:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/07\/09\/judge-demands-explanation-after-el-salvador-dropkicks-trump-lies-about-cecot-detainees\/"},"modified":"2025-07-09T12:28:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T20:28:29","slug":"judge-demands-explanation-after-el-salvador-dropkicks-trump-lies-about-cecot-detainees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/07\/09\/judge-demands-explanation-after-el-salvador-dropkicks-trump-lies-about-cecot-detainees\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge Demands Explanation After El Salvador Dropkicks Trump Lies About CECOT Detainees"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
(Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Trump\u2019s rendition cases are starting to bleed into each other.<\/p>\n

On Monday, plaintiffs in the habeas case for men banished to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador docketed an admission<\/a> by the Salvadoran government that the United States retains constructive custody of prisoners dumped there by the Trump administration. In response to a complaint by the men\u2019s families, El Salvador told the United Nations that \u201cthe jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities, by virtue of international agreements signed and in accordance with the principles of sovereignty and international cooperation in criminal matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

This would appear to prove that the DOJ lied to multiple courts when it said that the Trump administration has no responsibility once it pushes detainees out of the plane onto foreign soil, and that facilitating their return would require delicate negotiations handled personally by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. <\/p>\n

\u201cThose aliens are in the custody of a foreign nation pursuant to its laws,\u201d the DOJ argued<\/a> in May. The United States does not have custody so there is no jurisdiction.<\/p>\n

It does however accord with the government\u2019s ability to get Kilmar Abrego Garcia back from El Salvador without moving to formally extradite him, after months in which the DOJ insisted this was simply impossible.<\/p>\n

Judge James Boasberg is still mulling the matter in DC. But in the meantime, Judge Stephanie Gallagher of the US District Court for the District of Maryland has ordered<\/a> the government to explain itself. Again. But this time without the lying.<\/em><\/p>\n

Judge Gallagher is overseeing a 2024 settlement entered in a six-year-old case called J.O.P. v. Dep\u2019t of Homeland Security<\/em>. In exchange for the plaintiffs dismissing their litigation, the government promised not to remove undocumented children who showed up at the border as unaccompanied minors without providing specific due process.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration broke that promise almost immediately, renditioning a detainee pseudonymously referred to as \u201cCristian\u201d to CECOT in El Salvador. On April 23, Judge Gallagher ordered<\/a> the government to facilitate Cristian\u2019s return to the United States.<\/p>\n

\n

Thus, like Judge Xinis in the Abrego Garcia matter, this Court will order Defendants to facilitate Cristian\u2019s return to the United States so that he can receive the process he was entitled to under the parties\u2019 binding Settlement Agreement. This Court further orders that facilitating Cristian\u2019s return includes, but is not limited to, Defendants making a good faith request to the government of El Salvador to release Cristian to U.S. custody for transport back to the United States to await the adjudication of his asylum application on the merits by USCIS.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The government immediately appealed<\/a>, and, after a brief administrative pause, the Fourth Circuit declined<\/a> to issue a stay.<\/p>\n

Judge Gallagher\u2019s order went into effect on May 19, and the very next day she ordered<\/a> the government to file a status report that included a sworn declaration, under oath, by person(s) with personal knowledge as to: 1) Cristian\u2019s location and custodial status; 2) what steps the government has taken to facilitate his return; and 3) what steps they planned to take in the future.<\/p>\n

Instead the government produced a series of declarations from someone named Mellissa Harper, the Acting Deputy Executive Associate Director of the Enforcement and Removal Operations Division at ICE (and not Secretary of State Marco Rubio). Harper blithely insisted that some unnamed \u201csenior leadership\u201d authorized her to \u201cmake the following statement\u201d:<\/p>\n

\n

Secretary Rubio has a personal relationship with President Bukele and senior officials in the El Savadorean [sic] government that dates back over a decade\u2026. [H]e is personally handling the discussions with the government of El Salvador regarding persons subject to the Court\u2019s order detained in El Salvador.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Judge Gallagher has become increasingly testy over these non-responsive responses, and Monday\u2019s UN report appeared to push her over the edge into open fury. Yesterday she sua sponte <\/em>took judicial notice of the report and gave the defendants one week to come clean after months in which it \u201crepeatedly skirted this Court\u2019s directive to provide information.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Defendants have repeatedly made oblique references to their request of \u201cassistance\u201d from the U.S. Department of State (DOS), which has \u201center[ed] into negotiations to facilitate Cristian\u2019s return\u201d and \u201cassumed responsibility on behalf of the U.S. Government for\u2026diplomatic discussions with El Salvador.\u201d Assuming the Government of El Salvador provided truthful information to the UN, no \u201cdiplomatic discussions\u201d should be required here because El Salvador has no sovereign interest in Cristian\u2019s continued confinement in that country. This Court directs Defendants to explain their position that \u201cdiplomatic discussions\u201d involving the DOS are required to facilitate Cristian\u2019s return to the United States in compliance with this Court\u2019s Order.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Oh, Mellissa Harper \u2026 you\u2019ve got some \u2018splainin\u2019 to do.<\/p>\n

J.O.P.\u00a0v.\u00a0<\/em>U.S. Department of Homeland Security<\/a> [Docket via Court Listener]<\/p>\n

\n

Liz Dye<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Andrew Torrez<\/a>\u00a0produce the Law and Chaos\u00a0Substack<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0podcast<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The post Judge Demands Explanation After El Salvador Dropkicks Trump Lies About CECOT Detainees<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
(Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Trump\u2019s rendition cases are starting to bleed into each other.<\/p>\n

On Monday, plaintiffs in the habeas case for men banished to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador docketed an admission<\/a> by the Salvadoran government that the United States retains constructive custody of prisoners dumped there by the Trump administration. In response to a complaint by the men\u2019s families, El Salvador told the United Nations that \u201cthe jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities, by virtue of international agreements signed and in accordance with the principles of sovereignty and international cooperation in criminal matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

This would appear to prove that the DOJ lied to multiple courts when it said that the Trump administration has no responsibility once it pushes detainees out of the plane onto foreign soil, and that facilitating their return would require delicate negotiations handled personally by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. <\/p>\n

\u201cThose aliens are in the custody of a foreign nation pursuant to its laws,\u201d the DOJ argued<\/a> in May. The United States does not have custody so there is no jurisdiction.<\/p>\n

It does however accord with the government\u2019s ability to get Kilmar Abrego Garcia back from El Salvador without moving to formally extradite him, after months in which the DOJ insisted this was simply impossible.<\/p>\n

Judge James Boasberg is still mulling the matter in DC. But in the meantime, Judge Stephanie Gallagher of the US District Court for the District of Maryland has ordered<\/a> the government to explain itself. Again. But this time without the lying.<\/em><\/p>\n

Judge Gallagher is overseeing a 2024 settlement entered in a six-year-old case called J.O.P. v. Dep\u2019t of Homeland Security<\/em>. In exchange for the plaintiffs dismissing their litigation, the government promised not to remove undocumented children who showed up at the border as unaccompanied minors without providing specific due process.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration broke that promise almost immediately, renditioning a detainee pseudonymously referred to as \u201cCristian\u201d to CECOT in El Salvador. On April 23, Judge Gallagher ordered<\/a> the government to facilitate Cristian\u2019s return to the United States.<\/p>\n

\n

Thus, like Judge Xinis in the Abrego Garcia matter, this Court will order Defendants to facilitate Cristian\u2019s return to the United States so that he can receive the process he was entitled to under the parties\u2019 binding Settlement Agreement. This Court further orders that facilitating Cristian\u2019s return includes, but is not limited to, Defendants making a good faith request to the government of El Salvador to release Cristian to U.S. custody for transport back to the United States to await the adjudication of his asylum application on the merits by USCIS.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The government immediately appealed<\/a>, and, after a brief administrative pause, the Fourth Circuit declined<\/a> to issue a stay.<\/p>\n

Judge Gallagher\u2019s order went into effect on May 19, and the very next day she ordered<\/a> the government to file a status report that included a sworn declaration, under oath, by person(s) with personal knowledge as to: 1) Cristian\u2019s location and custodial status; 2) what steps the government has taken to facilitate his return; and 3) what steps they planned to take in the future.<\/p>\n

Instead the government produced a series of declarations from someone named Mellissa Harper, the Acting Deputy Executive Associate Director of the Enforcement and Removal Operations Division at ICE (and not Secretary of State Marco Rubio). Harper blithely insisted that some unnamed \u201csenior leadership\u201d authorized her to \u201cmake the following statement\u201d:<\/p>\n

\n

Secretary Rubio has a personal relationship with President Bukele and senior officials in the El Savadorean [sic] government that dates back over a decade\u2026. [H]e is personally handling the discussions with the government of El Salvador regarding persons subject to the Court\u2019s order detained in El Salvador.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Judge Gallagher has become increasingly testy over these non-responsive responses, and Monday\u2019s UN report appeared to push her over the edge into open fury. Yesterday she sua sponte <\/em>took judicial notice of the report and gave the defendants one week to come clean after months in which it \u201crepeatedly skirted this Court\u2019s directive to provide information.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Defendants have repeatedly made oblique references to their request of \u201cassistance\u201d from the U.S. Department of State (DOS), which has \u201center[ed] into negotiations to facilitate Cristian\u2019s return\u201d and \u201cassumed responsibility on behalf of the U.S. Government for\u2026diplomatic discussions with El Salvador.\u201d Assuming the Government of El Salvador provided truthful information to the UN, no \u201cdiplomatic discussions\u201d should be required here because El Salvador has no sovereign interest in Cristian\u2019s continued confinement in that country. This Court directs Defendants to explain their position that \u201cdiplomatic discussions\u201d involving the DOS are required to facilitate Cristian\u2019s return to the United States in compliance with this Court\u2019s Order.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Oh, Mellissa Harper \u2026 you\u2019ve got some \u2018splainin\u2019 to do.<\/p>\n

J.O.P.\u00a0v.\u00a0<\/em>U.S. Department of Homeland Security<\/a> [Docket via Court Listener]<\/p>\n

\n

Liz Dye<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Andrew Torrez<\/a>\u00a0produce the Law and Chaos\u00a0Substack<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0podcast<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images) Trump\u2019s rendition cases are starting to bleed into each other. On Monday, plaintiffs in the habeas case for men banished to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador docketed an admission by the Salvadoran government that the United States retains constructive custody of prisoners dumped there by the Trump administration. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":126137,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/donald-trump-GettyImages-1152627372-EkyZOo.jpeg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}