“If a plaintiff’s stake in a lawsuit falls away, so too does the Court’s subject matter jurisdiction,” the Justice Department wrote in its motion to dismiss.
The U.S. Department of Justice told a federal court on Monday that a lawsuit filed by Kilmar Abrego Garcia against several government agencies must be dismissed because he is no longer being held without due process in a Salvadoran prison.
According to WTOP News, Justice Department attorneys wrote that Abrego Garcia and his family have already received the relief that they sought when filing the lawsuit. In its motion to dismiss, the department also claimed that other government agencies “have taken extraordinary steps and facilitated, and indeed effectuated, Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States.”
Abrego Garcia’s lawsuit was filed in federal court by his legal team shortly after he arrived in Tennessee from El Salvador. He is now facing charges for human smuggling, though the Trump administration has yet to release any compelling evidence that Abrego Garcia was involved with MS-13 or other criminal organizations.
“This administration […] instead of simply admitting their mistake, they’ll stop at nothing at all, including some of the most preposterous charges,” attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg told The Associated Press.
“There’s no way a jury is going to see the evidence and agree that this sheet metal worker is the leader of an international MS-13 smuggling conspiracy,” he said.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have also characterized the Trump administration’s attempts to detain and deport their client as “an elaborate … government effort to defy court orders, deny due process, and disparage Abrego Garcia.”
But, in its motion to dismiss, the Justice Department said that Abrego Garcia—a legal U.S. resident who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador—no longer has standing to sue now that he’s back in the United States.
“To establish standing, there must be an ‘actual, ongoing controversy,” Assistant U.S. Attorney General Brett Shumate wrote in the motion. “If a plaintiff’s stake in a lawsuit falls away, so too does the Court’s subject matter jurisdiction.”
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers, though, are still seeking information on interagency communications before, during, and after his deportation—a request that Shumate claims is unlawful and unnecessary.
“Defendants no longer need discovery to reveal whether Defendants are complying [with] the Court’s preliminary injunction,” said Shumate, referring to a district court judge’s order to return Abrego Garcia to the Untied States.
Abrego Garcia and his legal team maintain that the government’s actions were broadly unlawful, with court documents emphasizing President Donald Trump’s unusual interest and involvement in the case.
“[T]he Government has always had the ability to return Abrego Garcia, but it has simply refused to do so,” his lawsuit alleges.
“The executive branch’s wanton disregard for the judicial branch has left a stain on the Constitution,” it says. “If there is to be any hope of removing that stain, it must start by shining alight on the improper actions of the Government in this tragic affair and imposing meaningful remedies.”
During last Friday’s hearing, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers also noted that the government never expressed any intent to prosecute their client for human smuggling until April 28, 2025, after he had already been wrongfully deported to El Salvador.
Sources
Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to the US, charged with transporting people in the country illegally
Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia say Trump administration’s actions left ‘stain’ on Constitution
US says Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s Maryland lawsuit over deportation is moot, must be dismissed
