4d ago

Maryland Sen. Van Hollen says he finally met with Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia

wjla.com

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Holy shit! He's alive? I did not expect that.
- That's why I'm in these threads saying it's worth it to fight this out in every avenue. In the courts, in the legislatures, in the media, on social media, in the streets.
  Trump claimed to be able to deport people without courts being able to review. The Supreme Court rejected that view, and now the Trump administration has to spend the effort defending its actions in court.
  Under tough questioning by a judge in a case aggressively litigated by Kilmar's family, Trump's lawyers then acknowledged an administrative error was made and that Kilmar shouldn't have been deported. They fired the first lawyer to concede it, but the Solicitor General conceded it, too, and the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that Trump has to help get him back.
  Sen. Van Hollen went to El Salvador to meet with him. Many comments online, especially here on Lemmy, openly commented that it was futile and that Kilmar was dead. But Sen Van Hollen doesn't give up that easily, showed up in country and was turned away. Then he stayed and fought for access, and was able to meet with him and ensure that he was healthy and safe.
  Meanwhile, the Reagan appointee on the appellate court, Judge Wilkinson, has published a scathing ruling that the Trump administration owes the courts and Kilmar Abrego Garcia much more. Note that his concurring opinion last time around essentially became adopted as the 9-0 Supreme Court opinion.
  There's cynicism all around, but most of what has already happened is the type of stuff that the cynical pessimists would've never expected to happen in this case.
  The brazen lawlessness of the Trump administration is currently backfiring, and now things are escalating into full blown discovery into the ICE/DHS deportation decisions,
  The message is that this fight is still worth fighting. Every little step matters.
  And when we force these issues into the court for plainclothes arrests, arbitrary revocation of student visas or other authorizations to be in the country, we force the Trump administration to actually say what they're doing, to be scrutinized and analyzed.
  The lawsuits are bringing transparency and may still bring results, so quit with the doomerism. Even if we don't win every fight, the struggle continues, and we force the other side to expend their resources and effort in a way that makes it harder for them to accomplish their agenda.
  Donate to the nonprofits fighting for this stuff. Volunteer your time. This fight is worth fighting.
  
  This 100%
  We should all apply this sentiment from Churchill to the current situation. Every little act of resistance adds up.
  Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.
  
  then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.
  I don't know why, but this made me really sad. Remember when we, the "New World, with all its power and might" fought for "rescue and liberation"? Really makes you want to stand up and fight for who we were and can still be again.
  
  I had the same thoughts!
  
  You’re right. I still thought he was long dead, and am surprised he isn’t.
  
  This comment is light in a dark dark tunnel. Please post a link that shows how you know this, as it will inspire more people if it's backed up.
  
  shows how you know this,
  Ok, where to begin. I'm a lawyer with decades of experience, including with the occasional case that involves the government. I know how to read a case and follow the news from an informed perspective, and I recognize the individual traits/characteristics/background of the judges involved. There's not one place to read it, but let's try.
  Here's a litigation tracker that updates on all the big lawsuits trying to rein in Trump's lawlessness:
  https://www.justsecurity.org/107087/tracker-litigation-legal-challenges-trump-administration/
  CTRL+F "Abrego Garcia" for the rundown of Kilmar's case. "Update 5" describes the appellate court's decision not to stay the district court's order to "facilitate and effectuate," and contains a link to the opinion, which includes Judge Wilkinson's concurrence that "facilitate" is a legal order but "effectuate" might exceed the court's power to order the government to do specific things in foreign policy matters. The Supreme Court agreed that "facilitate" was a lawful order, but told the district court to make sure it doesn't overstep by ordering "effectuation" in a way that infringes on the President's constitutional powers.
  Judge Wilkinson is a Reagan appointee who is widely regarded as a superstar in the Republican party, in Federalist Society circles. He was an influential thinker and jurist on conservative causes, and clerking for him as a first job out of law school is a marker of an up and coming conservative lawyer superstar. Many of those clerks went on to clerk for Scalia, Roberts, etc. Clerking for him remains a fairly prominent part of the pipeline for future Republican judges and politicians.
  Yesterday, he wrote the majority opinion for the Fourth Circuit that makes very clear that the government's position is "shocking" and a threat to "the foundation of our constitutional order."
  The work continues. This is just one case. All the other cases will have different results, but Trump isn't going to win all of them, and each Trump loss draws blood, while his lack of focus means that he'll continue to make unforced errors while opening new fronts to fight on: Gulf of Mexico, Greenland, Tariffs, picking a fight with the chair of the Federal Reserve, flip flopping on which federal programs or contracts to cut, all the different mistakes in administration, etc.
  I'm not on board with doomerism or even accelerationism. I think there's still a fight to be had in the legal arena, and I still think our side can win there. Watching how the cases are playing out confirms that the other side believes it, too. Otherwise, why would they be fighting this hard?
  
  You're the MVP, thanks dude
  
  It's good to remember that Trump's entire MO is to never concede. MAGA politicians have adopted this strategy because it works so well against politicians who adhere to decorum and good faith politics.
  It's essentially a game of chicken, the first one to give in losses.
  
  It's good to remember that Trump's entire MO is to never concede.
  It's also true that there are internal factions fighting for power and influence, that often results in incoherent flip flopping. Constant external pressure on the administration intensifies the internet discord, and is also worth doing for that reason.
- Good news in an otherwise terrible series of events
- Kinda should be a lesson to us all not to start or spread rumors as serious as death and torture, until there's actual evidence. That kind of lying is what maga does.

39 comments