A federal judge delivered a stern ruling early Sunday, instructing the Trump administration to reinstate a suspected MS-13 gang member who she asserted was improperly deported to El Salvador the previous week. U.S.

District Judge Paula Xinis, appointed by Obama, criticized the Trump administration for what she termed a ‘serious mistake’ that ‘shocks the conscience,’ following the inadvertent deportation of a Salvadoran migrant to a notorious prison last month, coupled with the administration’s claim of limited ability to retrieve him.

Judge Xinis’s order served two primary functions: it offered a comprehensive explanation of her brief ruling from Friday, which mandated the White House to return migrant Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to the United States by the end of Monday, and it denied the Justice Department’s request to pause the order while a federal appeals court assessed its legitimacy.

Covering 22 pages, Xinis strongly condemned Trump officials for deporting Abrego Garcia to El Salvador on March 15, which directly contravened a prior court order permitting his stay in the United States. Administration officials subsequently contended that neither they nor Xinis possessed the authority to secure his release from prison.

The defendants concede that they lacked the legal authority to arrest him, had no justification for his detention, and no basis for sending him to El Salvador — much less for transferring him to one of the most perilous prisons in the Western Hemisphere,” Xinis stated.

“Having admitted to a significant mistake, the defendants now contend that this court does not possess the jurisdiction to adjudicate this matter, and they assert they do not have the authority to mandate Abrego Garcia’s return.

The Trump administration has persisted in its defense of the deportation despite acknowledging the error. On Sunday, Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed on Fox News that Abrego Garcia was affiliated with a gang, referencing statements from immigration officials.

She also revealed that the Justice Department attorney who initially managed the case has been suspended for inadequately defending the administration. The attorney, Erez Reuveni, who was acting as the deputy director of the department’s immigration litigation division, was removed from his position for failing to “adhere to a directive from your superiors,” according to the New York Times. The publication further noted that Reuveni expressed his frustration in court regarding the administration’s management of the case.

In accordance with my directive, every attorney within the Department of Justice is mandated to vigorously represent the interests of the United States. Any attorney who does not comply with this directive will encounter repercussions,” Bondi stated in a formal announcement.

The Justice Department has requested that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit temporarily halt Xinis’s order, which mandates the administration to return Abrego Garcia to the United States by 11:59 p.m. on Monday.

A court directive that mandates the Executive to interact with a foreign entity in a specific manner, or even to enforce a particular action by a foreign sovereign, is constitutionally unacceptable,” stated government attorneys. The appellate court requested that Abrego Garcia’s legal representatives reply to the government’s submission by Sunday afternoon, as reported by the Associated Press.

Various commentators have highlighted that although Xinis asserts that Abrego Garcia was incorrectly identified as a member of the MS-13 gang, she also acknowledged in her ruling that there is a concern he may encounter persecution from opposing gangs — two assertions that are contradictory. They contend that if he was never affiliated with the El Salvador-based gang, there would be no grounds to believe he would be at risk of persecution from ‘rival gangs.’

The administration has contended that the State Department has classified MS-13 as a terrorist organization, which is another aspect of the case that the Justice Department claims falls outside the jurisdiction of a federal court.