Trump administration seeks federal judge approval for Liberia deportation

President Donald Trump’s administration called on a federal judge to approve the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia on Friday, arguing all legal hurdles had been cleared.

The Friday filing is the latest in the administration’s efforts to deport Abrego Garcia a second time following his return from El Salvador earlier this year. The Justice Department called on U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis to clear the deportation, saying Abrego Garcia had failed to establish that he would face persecution in Liberia.

“Petitioner’s claims are procedurally barred multiple times over and fail on the merits in any event,” the DOJ argued. “This Court should therefore dissolve its preliminary injunction and permit the government to remove Petitioner to Liberia.”

Attorneys for the U.S. also said Liberia has made “sufficient and credible” arguments that Abrego Garcia will not face harm.

DHS TO SOON DEPORT ABREGO GARCIA TO AFRICAN NATION AFTER ILLEGAL ALIEN’S RETURN FROM EL SALVADOR, FILING SAYS

Nevertheless, lawyers for Abrego Garcia argue that he has not received sufficient due process to justify his deportation.

“The Government insists that the unreasoned determination of a single immigration officer—who concluded that Abrego Garcia failed to establish that it is ‘more likely than not’ that he will be persecuted or tortured in Liberia— satisfies due process. It does not,” his attorneys wrote in their own Friday filing.

His attorneys further argue that Abrego Garcia is the victim of retaliatory prosecution, noting that Costa Rica has already offered to accept his deportation flight on a refugee status. The U.S. said it would not send him to Costa Rica unless he agreed to plead guilty to human trafficking charges.

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“The timeline suggests a pattern: when the Government received orders it disliked in Abrego Garcia’s civil case challenging his unlawful removal to El Salvador; it initiated a criminal prosecution in retaliation; and when it received orders it disliked in Abrego Garcia’s criminal case, it initiated third-country removal efforts in retaliation,” the attorneys argued.

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Earlier in the case, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys cited more than 20 countries he allegedly fears would persecute or torture him if he were removed there. Liberia was not among those listed.

“Liberia is a thriving democracy and one of the United States’ closest partners on the African continent,” the DOJ argued in October.