Yesterday, a federal district court ordered the Trump Administration to secure the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant the government admits was illegally deported to El Salvador and then incarcerated in the horrendous CECOT prison, as part of a deal under which the Salvadoran government imprisons migrants deported by the US in exchange for a payment. Today, a unanimous appellate panel of the Fourth Circuit refused to stay the ruling. These decisions are obviously correct, and the Trump administration's argument to the contrary has extremely dangerous implications. It suggests that the government can deport and imprison anyone it wants - including US citizens - and then be immune from judicial review, so long as the incarceration is done by a foreign state, even one that is obviously doing it at the behest of the US government.
