A Justice Department attorney who publicly expressed misgivings about the government’s response to the erroneous deportation of a Maryland man to a high-security prison in El Salvador has been put on administrative leave, a DOJ official said Saturday.
Erez Reuveni represented the Trump administration Friday at a federal court hearing where lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia successfully obtained an order requiring the government to secure his return to the U.S. after he was deported last month in what immigration officials described as a clerical error.
Reuveni was noticeably unenthusiastic about the government’s position in the case, telling U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis that he had urged his “clients” to take steps to bring Abrego Garcia back. The lawyer also said he’d been rebuffed in his attempts to get more information to offer the court about why officials deemed him to be a member of MS-13.
Abrego Garcia entered the United States illegally in 2012, authorities say. An immigration judge ordered in 2019 that Abrego Garcia could not be deported to El Salvador, his home country, because he faced a legitimate risk of persecution there. That judge’s order remained in effect when the Trump administration sent him there last month.
Toward the end of Friday’s hearing, Reuveni pleaded with Xinis to hold off her ruling for 24 hours so he could beseech the government to change its position. The White House has argued that the judge lacks the authority to order Abrego Garcia’s return.
“I would ask the court to give us, the defendants, one more chance to do this,” Reuveni said. “That’s my recommendation to my client, but so far that hasn’t happened.”
After a short recess, Xinis opted against any delay and ordered the federal government to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. by midnight Monday.
Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a statement Saturday suggesting that Reuveni, who’s been a career DOJ attorney for nearly 15 years and was recently promoted to acting deputy director of the department’s Office of Immigration Litigation, had not been forceful enough in defending the government’s stance.
“At my direction, every Department of Justice attorney is required to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States. Any attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences,” Bondi said.
Reuveni did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment Saturday. The decision to place him on paid leave was first reported by The New York Times, which said it obtained a letter Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche sent Reuveni suspending him for failing to follow “follow a directive from your superiors” and “engaging in conduct prejudicial to your client.”
The Justice Department immediately appealed Xinis’ decision requiring the return of Abrego Garcia, who is a citizen of El Salvador. On Saturday, DOJ filed a motion with the judge asking her to put her ruling on hold. It also filed a similar motion with the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Reuveni’s name was on the appeal Friday, but absent from the court filings Saturday.
