AG Pam Bondi insists ICE was right to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia despite a federal judge’s ruling that his removal was unlawful, citing alleged MS-13 ties
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Pam Bondi on Sunday defended Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after a federal judge ruled the agency unlawfully deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, ordering his return by Monday midnight.
Bondi, appearing on Fox News Sunday, rejected U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis’s finding that the government lacked evidence to label Abrego Garcia an MS-13 member. “The argument that because these people are living among us, these illegal aliens from El Salvador, means they are not part of a gang?” Bondi said. “That is how they are hiding. That is how they succeed.”
The clash stems from a March 15 deportation flight that removed Abrego Garcia despite a 2019 ruling that he could not be returned to El Salvador due to risks of persecution. Justice Department lawyer Erez Reuveni admitted in court Friday that the deportation was unlawful, prompting his suspension. “Mr. Abrego-Garcia should not have been removed. That is not in dispute,” Reuveni said—a concession Bondi called a breach of duty. “He shouldn’t have argued [the case] if that’s what he was going to do,” she said.
Judge Xinis, an Obama appointee, declared the deportation “an illegal act,” but the administration filed an appeal Friday. Bondi reiterated ICE’s authority: “I firmly believe in the work they are doing to make America safe again.”