A senior Justice Department immigration lawyer took an indefinite leave Saturday after questioning the Trump administration's decision to banish Maryland man to El Salvador a day after defending the move on behalf of the department in court.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has stopped Elles Roubeni, the representative director of the department's immigration litigation department, for “failing to follow the instructions from his superiors” because he “failed to comply with the instructions from his superiors.”
Lauded by his boss in an email announcing his promotion two weeks ago as the “best” prosecutor, Roubeni is the latest career manager who has been suspended, demoted, transferred or fired for denying instructions from President Trump's appointees in order to take what they deemed inappropriate or unethical.
“At my direction, all Justice Department lawyers must advocate diligently on behalf of the United States,” Attorney General Pam Bondy wrote in a statement sent to the Times on Saturday. “A lawyer who fails to follow these instructions will face consequences.”
Under questions from a federal judge on Friday, Roubeni acknowledged that last month's deportation of Kilmer Armando Abrego Garcia should never happen after receiving a court order that allowed him to remain in the United States. Mr. Roubeni also said he was irritated when the incident landed on his desk.
Roubeni, a respected 15-year immigration veteran, asked the judge to persuade his “client” in the Trump administration to begin the process of recovering and re-repelling Abrego Garcia.
Less than 24 hours later, Blanche, a former criminal defense lawyer for President Trump, accused Roubeni of “engaging in behaviour that is biased against your clients.” Blanche suspended Roubeny on his salary, blocked him from accessing emails for his work and blocked him from performing duties related to his work.
The judge in the case, Paula Sinis of the U.S. District Court in Washington, said he had arrested Abrego Garcia and put him on a plane and acted without a “legal basis” when he shipped him to MegaPrison in Salvadra without justifiable treatment, or on substantial evidence that he had done something worthy of such treatment.
She gave him power to return him to the United States until the end of Monday.
Early Saturday morning, the Justice Department asked the federal court of appeals to sit on Judge Sinis to suspend her order to bring Abrego Garcia back, calling him “not possible or appropriate.”
“The order is vulnerable,” the department's lawyer wrote. “More than anything, I order the defendant to do something that he has no independent authority. I will release El Salvador Abrego Garcia and send him to America.”
In a previous court application, the Justice Department accused 29-year-old Abrego Garcia of belonging to MS-13, a multinational gang with roots in El Salvador. However, Abrego Garcia denied them as the authorities provided limited evidence to support their claims.
At a hearing Friday, Judge Sinis expressed skepticism about the link between Abrego Garcia and MS-13, noting that there is little evidence that he belongs to the gang.
“In court, when someone is accused of membership in such a violent and predatory organization, it comes in the form of a prosecution, sue, criminal proceedings – a robust process, so we can deal with the facts,” Judge Sinis said. “I haven't heard that from the government yet.”
The letter to Reuveni did not clarify how long he would be on vacation or whether he would face disciplinary action.
Unlike other career prosecutors targeted by Blanche and his agent Emil Bove, Roubeny previously praised him for implementing elements of Trump's immigration agenda.
In an email on March 21, Reuveni announced his superior Drew C. Ensign, the deputy vice-director of the department's immigration litigation office, addressing cases filed against sanctuary cities accused of rebelling against federal immigration law, praised him for helping to expand the department's litigation activities.
“I would like to thank those who submitted their interest in acting positions. We had great options to help showcase the team's excellent caliber,” Ensign wrote.
Ensign is handling another immigration case. He used alien enemy law, a wartime law that the Trump administration rarely calls, and immediately expels a Venezuelan immigrant score accused of belonging to the street gangster Trendé Lagua.
Alain Fahre Reports of contributions.
