Since the Trump administration ramped up its hardline immigration agenda, dozens of cases have emerged across the United States involving alleged violations of due process and human rights.
One of the most prominent is that of Kilmar Abrego García, a Salvadoran man who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March. Since being returned to the country, he has been entangled in a prolonged legal fight with federal immigration authorities who want to deport him as soon as the case is solved.
As that legal battle continues, a new CBS News report reveals that a former Department of Justice attorney claims he was fired for refusing to support what he describes as a false narrative in Abrego García's case. The attorney, Erez Reuveni, told the outlet that he declined to sign a legal brief describing Abrego García as a member of the MS-13 gang and a terrorist, an accusation he says was used in an effort to prevent the man from returning to the United States.
Reuveni, who once received praise from Trump administration officials for defending the president's immigration policies during his first term, said what he witnessed inside the DOJ violated basic legal principles.
"I took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution," Reuveni said. "And my view of that oath is that I need to speak up and draw attention to what has happened to the department, what is happening to the rule of law. I would not be faithfully abiding by my oath if I stayed silent right now."
He also described the moment when a supervisor called to pressure him into signing off on the brief that labeled Abrego García as a gang member.
"I respond up the chain of command, no way. That is not correct. That is not factually correct. It is not legally correct. That is a lie. And I cannot sign my name to that brief," Reuveni recounted.
He went on to emphasize that the real issue was not whether Abrego García had gang affiliations, but whether he had been granted a fair legal process.
"What's to stop them if they decide they don't like you anymore, to say you're a criminal, you're a member of MS-13, you're a terrorist?" Reuveni said. "What's to stop them from sending in some DOJ attorney at the direction of DOJ leadership to delay, to filibuster, and if necessary, to lie? And now that's you gone and your liberties changed."
Reuveni was officially fired after refusing to sign the brief. In June, he filed a whistleblower complaint with support from attorneys at the Government Accountability Project.
According to CBS News, Reuveni is not the only legal expert raising concerns about the DOJ's conduct. Ryan Goodman, a law professor at New York University, said his team has reviewed more than 35 cases in which judges accused the federal government of submitting false or misleading information in immigration proceedings.
"It might be intentionally false information, including false sworn declarations time and again," Goodman said.
Since his March deportation, Abrego García has remained in legal limbo. As The Latin Times reported last week, he was recently transferred from a detention facility in Virginia to one in Pennsylvania and could now face deportation to an entirely different continent.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration rejected Abrego García's claims that, in case of being deported there, he would face persecution in Uganda. Officials noted that he had raised similar concerns about at least 22 other countries, including El Salvador, Mexico, Cuba, Colombia and Venezuela.
As a result, the administration is now seeking to deport him to Eswatini, a landlocked country in southern Africa formerly known as Swaziland. The nation is ruled by King Mswati III and has faced longstanding criticism from human rights groups over its restrictions on political freedoms and treatment of migrants.
Advocates argue that deporting Abrego García to Eswatini would violate U.S. obligations under international refugee law.
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