Trump administration seeks federal judge approval for Liberia deportation

President Donald Trump’s administration called on a federal judge Friday to approve the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia, arguing that all legal hurdles have been cleared.

The application filed Friday was the latest in the administration’s efforts to deport Abrego Garcia for a second time after he returned from El Salvador earlier this year. The Justice Department urged U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis to clear the deportation, saying Abrego Garcia failed to prove he would face persecution in Liberia.

“Plaintiff’s claims have been repeatedly thwarted on procedural grounds and, in each case, failed on the merits,” the Justice Department said. “Therefore, the Court must lift the preliminary injunction and permit the government to send the Applicant to Liberia.”

U.S. attorneys also said Liberia had put forward “sufficient and convincing” arguments that Abrego Garcia would not be harmed.

THE FILING STATES DHS WILL SOON REMOVE ABREGO GARCIA TO THE AFRICAN COUNTRY AFTER THE ILLEGAL ALIEN’S RETURN FROM EL SALVADOR

However, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers argue that he was not given sufficient due process to justify his deportation.

“The government insists that the unreasonable determination of a single immigration officer to conclude that he failed to establish that it was ‘more likely than not’ that Abrego Garcia was persecuted or tortured in Liberia satisfied due process. It does not,” his lawyers wrote in a petition filed Friday.

His lawyers also argue that Abrego Garcia is the victim of retaliatory prosecution, noting that Costa Rica has already offered to accept his deportation flight because of his refugee status. The United States said it would not send him to Costa Rica unless he pleaded guilty to human trafficking charges.

ABREGO GARCIA, RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL, WILL RETURN TO MARYLAND TO AWAIT TRIAL

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers argue that Garcia faces retaliation from the U.S. government. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“The timeline reveals a pattern: When the government received orders it did not like in the civil case regarding Abrego Garcia’s illegal removal to El Salvador; it initiated a criminal prosecution in retaliation; and when it received orders it did not like in Abrego Garcia’s criminal case, it initiated third-country deportation efforts in retaliation,” the attorneys wrote.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blamed “activist” judges for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia earlier this year. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

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Earlier in the case, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers cited more than 20 examples of countries where Garcia claimed he feared persecution or torture if he were sent there. Liberia was not among those listed.

“Liberia is a thriving democracy and one of the United States’ closest partners on the African continent,” the Justice Department said in October.