Former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy on Monday explained how Attorney General Pam Bondi could legally legitimize the deportation of alleged MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego GarcĂa.
Despite an Immigration judge ordering Abrego GarcĂa deported in 2019, a second judge later issued a withholding of removal order, which barred his deportation to El Salvador and enabled him to work in the U.S. McCarthy, on âAmericaâs Newsroom,â said Bondi has legal options to revisit that order and potentially reverse it by finding that it is now unwarranted due to circumstances changing in El Salvador. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: GOP Launches Investigation Into Taxpayer-Funded Group Allegedly Caught Teaching How To Avoid ICE)
WATCH:
đş Embedded media â coming soon
âHe is deportable. And itâs always been true that if they could find a third country to send him to, they could have sent him there,â McCarthy said. âAnd itâs also always been true â and I donât understand what Attorney General Bondi is doing here, frankly â thereâs a procedure in the law that allows the attorney general, even though this is six years ago, to reopen the withholding of removal order. She could make a finding that basically the conditions under which that order was imposed in 2019 have changed.â
Abrego GarcĂa received the withholding of removal order to El Salvador based on concerns of persecution by Barrio 18, a rival gang to MS-13. The Trump administration acknowledged it had made an âadministrative errorâ when deporting Abrego GarcĂa to his home country of El Salvador.
âAs I understand it, the gang that Abrego GarcĂa claimed to be afraid of, that he would be persecuted by when he went back â thatâs been smashed by the government there,â McCarthy added. âI could conceivably see her say, âWeâve looked at this again. Weâre going to undo the withholding of removal order because the conditions have changed.ââ
El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has clamped down on Barrio 18 in his country, significantly diminishing its power, according to think tank InSight Crime. Bukeleâs administration has imprisoned more than 10,000 of the gangâs alleged members, with others hiding out or departing the nation.
âAnd then if that were true, there is at least an argument that as long as he is not in custody over there, because he hasnât been convicted of anything, there isnât anything wrong with deporting him,â he continued. âBut they have to follow these steps. Thatâs what the process is.â
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed to the Daily Caller Thursday that Abrego GarcĂa was stopped in Tennessee in December 2022 on suspicion of human trafficking after being found to be transporting eight passengers across the country, as previously reported by the Tennessee Star. He allegedly did not hold a valid driverâs license, but was let go at the request of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to the outlet.
Moreover, four Democrats landed Monday in El Salvador to demand the return of Abrego GarcĂa, who is also accused of abusing his wife.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporterâs byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].