Federal Judge Slams Trump Admin Lawyer Over Plan To Deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia To Africa: 'Extremely Troubling'

A federal judge slammed a DOJ lawyer over the justification given to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia, saying his testimony was a "zero."

Concretely, judge Paula Xinis pushed back against John Cantu, a senior official at Enforcement and Removal Operations at Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

CBS News detailed that Xinis summoned Cantu to testify about whether the Trump administration intends to deport Abrego Garcia to Liberia rather than Costa Rica, where he wants to be removed.

The outlet noted that Xinis was visibly frustrated with the quality of Cantu's testimony, saying his answers were "the worst of all." "I've had three witnesses do this. This witness knew nothing. He didn't know the meaning of the words in his own affidavit," Xinis said, calling the development "extremely troubling."

She also questioned whether a final order of removal was ever issued for Abrego Garcia. His lawyers said they haven't seen one.

The DOJ, however, intends to conduct the deportation regardless. Officials said the African country made "sufficient and credible" assurances that Abrego Garcia would not be harmed or removed from Liberia to another country where he could face persecution.

Abrego Garcia has been seeking to avoid deportation to an African country claiming fear of persecution or torture. Through his legal team, he said being sent across the Atlantic would be a form of retaliation and he should be sent to Costa Rica instead.

Judge Xinis noted that Costa Rica has shown willingness to take Abrego Garcia and expressed her frustration at the fact that immigration official Jonathan Schultz kept talking about taking him elsewhere. Back then, the destination would be Eswatini.

Xinis, meanwhile, continues blocking the removal of Abrego Garcia while his criminal case on human smuggling charges continues in Tennessee. She's also weighing the possibility of releasing him from custody while the challenge to his detention continues. Abrego Garcia's lawyers said the government offered to send him to Costa Rica but only if he pleaded guilty to the Tennessee charges.