Friday Foibles
Gutting NOAA, illegal rendition, and more Big Law firms cave
Following the news these days can be completely overwhelming. So much happening, so many outrages all at once. Today I’m going to focus on three: gutting NOAA, the case of the illegal rendition of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, and the ongoing saga of Big Law caving in to Trump’s extortion.
Who Needs NOAA? Or Even Science, for that Matter?
I live in Southern California, so hurricanes aren’t really much of a thing here. But even I realize that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is pretty important. Yet those wizards in the White House want to gut NOAA funding, and in particular the Oceanic and Atmospheric Research office — cause why would a country that is very much in the line of fire when it comes to hurricanes and tropical storms want to study those things? By slashing NOAA’s budget by $170 million renders the “O.A.R eliminated as a line office” according to the proposal reported on by the New York Times.
This comes on the heels of reporting from ProPublica that the EPA under Trump intends to stop collecting greenhouse gas emissions data from polluters. Kinda reminds me of how during Covid, Trump wanted to cut down on testing: “If we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any.”1 No moron, you just would be ignorant as to how many cases you have!
The Trump Administration will go down in history as the most anti-science government since the middle ages. The timing could not be worse.
A Supreme Court Win… Maybe
Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia is a Maryland resident who is married to a US citizen and has three children who are also US citizens. Yet on March 15th, the Trump Administration snatched him off the streets and sent him to Cecot, or the Terrorism Confinement Center, in El Salvador, along with other migrants accused of belonging to the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua. Just a couple of problems with that plan:
1) Mr. Garcia is from El Salvador, not Venezuela; 2) he is not even accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua;2 and 3) there was an existing order from an immigration court barring him from being deported to El Salvador because he faced the risk of persecution if he were to return.
None of which mattered a bit to ICE.
Dragged before Federal District Court Judge Paula Xinis, last Friday, April 4, the lawyer for the Administration was forced to confess that the removal of Mr. Garcia was an “administrative error.” Oops.3 The judge was not having it, and ordered the DOJ to “facilitate and effectuate” the return Mr. Garcia to the United States by no later than 11:59 PM on Monday, April 7.” The Administration filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, and Chief Justice John Roberts issued an Administrative stay, blocking the judge’s order.
That is until yesterday, when a unanimous Court upheld the order of the district court:
The order properly requires the Government to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador. The intended scope of the term “effectuate” in the District Court’s order is, however, unclear, and may exceed the District Court’s authority.4 The District Court should clarify its directive, with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs. For its part, the Government should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps.
Deference is the one thing to which this Administration is most assuredly not entitled.
The three “liberal” Justices added a two-page statement that was far more direct in its approach to what the DOJ had done:
The United States Government arrested Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia in Maryland and flew him to a “terrorism confinement center” in El Salvador, where he has been detained for 26 days and counting. To this day, the Government has cited no basis in law for Abrego Garcia’s warrantless arrest, his removal to El Salvador, or his confinement in a Salvadoran prison…
The Government now requests an order from this Court permitting it to leave Abrego Garcia, a husband and father without a criminal record, in a Salvadoran prison for no reason recognized by the law. The only argument the Government offers in support of its request, that United States courts cannot grant relief once a deportee crosses the border, is plainly wrong… The Government’s argument, moreover, implies that it could deport and incarcerate any person, including U. S. citizens, without legal consequence, so long as it does so before a court can intervene. That view refutes itself.
Justice Sotomayor clearly sees where the Administration is heading in noting that their logic would allow them to “deport and incarcerate any person, including U. S. citizens, without legal consequence.”
You know, just like Authoritarian governments are prone to do.
On remand to the District Court, the Administration is still attempting to stonewall the process of getting Mr. Garcia home. Watch this space…
More Law Firms Cave
Back in March, I wrote about the intimidation tactics that Trump was employing via his Executive Orders against a number of firms. Those tactics have continued, and the New York Times is reporting that five of the largest law firms in the country have agreed to provide a total of $600 million in pro bono legal services for causes chosen by Trump. The latest cowards to cave are: Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, A&O Shearman, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.
Lovely.
Along with the other cowards previously announced,5 Trump is now sitting on a slush fund of some $940 million in pro bono services.
On the other side of the ledger, four firms have pushed back against Trump’s lawless EO’s including: Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Jenner & Block, and Susman Godfrey.
If only courage were contagious.
In community, forward!
Notes:
White House Plan Calls for NOAA Research Programs to Be Dismantled (NYT)
Trump’s EPA Plans to Stop Collecting Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data From Most Polluters (ProPubica)
SCOTUS Ruling in Noem v. Abrego Garcia
Five More Big Law Firms Reach Deals With Trump (NYT)
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/502819-trump-on-coronavirus-if-we-stop-testing-right-now-wed-have-very-few-cases/
Apparently desperate to paint Mr. Garcia as a very bad man, the White House claimed that he actually belongs to MS-13 and is involved in “human trafficking” but refused to offer any proof. Which is why you have due process, and not unlawful renditions, in this country.
The lawyer who made that admission, Erez Reuveni, was put on “administrative leave” because he didn’t argue strenuously enough — which is to say he didn’t lie to the judge.
Really? In a legal context, “effectuate” means to bring about, cause, or put into force or operation. It’s a formal way of saying to make something happen or to implement something; in this case, Mr. Garcia’s return. Seems pretty clear to me.
They include: Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Willkie Farr & Gallagher; and Milbank.
Great commentary Jim.
Mr Abrego Garcia's father's name was Abrego and his mother's maiden name was Garcia. Spanish names are so confusing.