Once Again, The Trump Administration Is Caught Lying About Deportation Options For Kilmar Abrego Garcia

from the executive-bullshit dept

The Trump administration just lies and lies and lies. Those in charge assume they can just bluster their way past the system of checks and balances. For everything else, there’s AI generated memes depicting Trump taking a shit on the people he serves. Win-win, I guess.

But things haven’t exactly been running smoothly for Trump’s mass deportation program — one that seems to run entirely on his cabinet’s hatred for anyone who may not be entirely on board the MAGA bus. That has resulted in an unprecedented number of talented government employees resigning or being fired. And there aren’t enough Trump loyalists around to offset this attrition rate.

The same thing goes for Trump’s amped-up, fueled-by-hate mass deportation program. Trump advisor Stephen Miller wants 3,000 arrests per day. Former Trump lawyer/current appellate judge Emil Bove told DOJ lawyers to say “fuck you” to federal courts seeking to limit the administration’s refusal to respect a rather large number of constitutional rights during its “immigration enforcement efforts.” Bove also was apparently behind the administration’s “murder people in boats” program.

As the combined forces of federal officers still somehow fail to rack up the number of daily arrests that would make Stephen Miller erect, the DOJ continues to deal with a single arrest that has been irritating it ever since immigration officers first performed it.

That would be the arrest of Kilmar Abrego Garcia — someone who has refused to back down despite the government tossing him into El Salvador’s dictator-run maximum security hell hole (CECOT) and being brought back to the United States (following a judge’s orders) just to be given the unappetizing “choice” of pleading guilty to highly imaginative criminal charges dreamed up by Trump’s vindictive DOJ or being dumped into the nearest hell hole or hell hole-adjacent country (to date: Liberia, Uganda, Ghana, and Eswatini).

The DOJ continues to claim it has to dump Garcia in a country where his chances of survival are incredibly slim because no country less war-torn or with an El Salvadoran-esque history of rampant human rights violation is willing to allow an alleged criminal like Garcia to call their country home.

But this has never been true. The government of Costa Rica — a destination far more preferable than those the US government claims are the only places willing to take custody of Garcia — has repeatedly made it clear that it is a willing host for someone the government continues to pretend is a dangerous person with ties to violent criminals.

The government won’t listen to this because it would rather send Garcia where it wants than grant any accommodations to someone who has constantly fought back against the administration’s bullying.

Once again, the federal court system is being given a chance to right this wrong. Here’s reporting from ABC News that reflects the facts laid out in Garcia’s latest filing challenging the government’s vindictive prosecution.

A top Costa Rican official said the country is still willing to accept Kilmar Abrego Garcia, contradicting statements made by U.S. government officials in court earlier this week.

“Costa Rica’s offer to receive Mr. Abrego Garcia for humanitarian reasons remains in place,” Mario Zamora, Costa Rica’s minister of security, told ABC News in a statement. “My letter dated August 25, 2025, is the official position of the government.”

Garcia’s motion [PDF] says the same thing, although it quotes [PDF] (in its entirety) slightly earlier reporting by the Washington Post. That reporting names the Costa Rican official offering an official welcome to Kilmar Abrego Garcia:

Security Minister Mario Zamora Cordero told The Washington Post that he had informed the U.S. Embassy in San José in August that the government would accept Abrego on humanitarian grounds and provide him legal residency. He reiterated that Costa Rica has the “highest human rights standards” and would receive Abrego “under humanitarian conditions that guarantee the full respect for his rights and liberties.”

“That position that we have expressed in the past remains valid and unchanged to this day,” Zamora Cordero said in a statement, responding to questions from The Post.

So, you can see how that won’t work from the Trump administration and the ghouls it employees. This government has promised to give Garcia “full respect for his rights and liberties.” The United States — under Donald Trump — certainly can’t be expected to do the same.

And it can’t even be bothered to explain why it won’t allow Costa Rica to become Garcia’s new home. Back to the ABC reporting:

“Mr. Cantu, when you say Costa Rica is not an option for removal … where does that come from?” U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis interjected.

“Counsel,” [ICE Field Office Director John] Cantu said, referring to a State Department attorney. 

During the hearing, Cantu also struggled to answer questions about a sworn declaration he signed regarding the government’s communications with Costa Rica.

“Sitting here today, you could not tell me whether anyone from the State Department has been in touch with Costa Rica since Aug. 21, to determine whether communications have changed?” asked Sascha Rand, an attorney for Abrego Garcia. 

“That’s right,” Cantu replied. 

In other words, ICE (and the DOJ) aren’t interested in talking to anyone who might give Garcia an option that’s less cruel and vindictive than the Trump administration desires. And if it has to take the phone off the hook to accomplish this, it will — even if that means administration officials (and any remaining DOJ prosecutors) will have their whole asses exposed repeatedly by judges and opposing counsel.

This administration is incapable of being both smart and cruel. Perhaps we should be thankful for this small grace, no matter how inadequate it often seems.

Filed Under: abrego garcia, bigotry, cecot, doj, due process, mass deportation, trump administration, vindictive prosecution