A senior Justice Department immigration lawyer was put on indefinite leave Saturday after questioning the Trump administration’s decision to deport a Maryland man to El Salvador — one day after defending the move on behalf of the department in court.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche suspended Erez Reuveni, the acting deputy director of the department’s immigration litigation division, for failing to “follow a directive from your superiors,” according to a letter sent to Mr. Reuveni and obtained by The New York Times.
Mr. Reuveni — who was praised as a “top-notched” prosecutor by his superiors in an email announcing his promotion two weeks ago — is the latest career official to be suspended, demoted, transferred or fired for refusing to comply with a directive from President Trump’s appointees to take actions they deem improper or unethical.
“At my direction, every Department of Justice attorney is required to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a statement sent to The Times on Saturday. “Any attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences.”
Under questioning by a federal judge on Friday, Mr. Reuveni conceded that the deportation last month of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who had a court order allowing him to stay in the United States, should never have taken place. Mr. Reuveni also said he had been frustrated when the case landed on his desk.
Mr. Reuveni, a respected 15-year veteran of the immigration division, asked the judge for 24 hours to persuade his “client,” the Trump administration, to begin the process of retrieving and repatriating Mr. Abrego Garcia.
Less than 24 hours later, Mr. Blanche, President Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer, accused Mr. Reuveni of “engaging in conduct prejudicial to your client.” Mr. Blanche suspended Mr. Reuveni with pay, cut off access to his work email and blocked him from performing any duties related to his job.
The judge in the case, Paula Xinis of the Federal District Court in Washington, said that officials had acted without “legal basis” when they arrested Mr. Abrego Garcia, put him on a plane and shipped him to a notorious Salvadoran megaprison without due process, or substantial proof that he had done anything to deserve such treatment.
She gave the administration until the end of Monday to return him to the United States.
Early Saturday morning, the Justice Department asked the federal appeals court that sits over Judge Xinis to pause her order to bring Mr. Abrego Garcia back, saying that was neither “possible nor proper.”
“That order is indefensible,” department lawyers wrote. “Foremost, it commands defendants to do something they have no independent authority to do: make El Salvador release Abrego Garcia, and send him to America.”
In previous court filings, the Justice Department accused Mr. Abrego Garcia, 29, of belonging to MS-13, a transnational gang with roots in El Salvador. But officials have offered only limited evidence to support their claims, and Mr. Abrego Garcia has denied them.
During the hearing on Friday, Judge Xinis expressed skepticism about a connection between Mr. Abrego Garcia and MS-13, noting that there was little proof that he belonged to the gang.
“In a court of law, when someone is accused of membership in such a violent and predatory organization, it comes in the form of an indictment, complaint, criminal proceeding — a robust process, so we can address the facts,” Judge Xinis said. “I haven’t yet heard that from the government.”
The letter to Mr. Reuveni did not make clear how long he would be placed on leave, or whether he would face disciplinary action.
Mr. Reuveni, unlike other career prosecutors targeted by Mr. Blanche and his deputy, Emil Bove, previously earned praise for executing elements of Mr. Trump’s immigration agenda.
In a March 21 email announcing Mr. Reuveni’s promotion to acting deputy director of the department’s Office of Immigration Litigation, his boss, Drew C. Ensign, lauded him for working on cases filed against sanctuary cities accused of defying federal immigration laws, and for generally helping to expand the department’s litigation activities.
“I want to thank those who submitted interest for the acting positions — we had outstanding choices, which helps go to show the excellent caliber of our team,” Mr. Ensign wrote.
Mr. Ensign has been handling a separate immigration case, one in which he has been defending the Trump administration’s use of a rarely invoked wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act, to summarily deport scores of Venezuelan migrants accused of belonging to the street gang Tren de Aragua.
Alan Feuer contributed reporting.
