Tom Joscelyn and Ryan Goodman write:

As the controversy over the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from Maryland to El Salvador has raged, the Trump administration has sought to focus the public’s attention on Abrego Garcia’s alleged membership in MS-13, a violent international gang. The White House, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have waged an aggressive information campaign to highlight the allegations. The administration’s strategy is clear: Portray those who criticize the manner in which Abrego Garcia was deported as being soft on gang violence and terrorism.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has described Abrego Garcia as “one of the top MS-13 members” and “a terrorist.” Tricia McLaughlin, an Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at DHS, accused him of involvement in “human trafficking.” And Sebastian Gorka, a counterterrorism official at the National Security Council, suggested that critics were “technically aiding and abetting criminals and terrorists,” which is a “crime.”

However, such statements should not distract Americans from the very real legal and constitutional issues at stake. Even if everything the administration alleges about Abrego Garcia were true, it would not justify the way he was arrested and deported. The government could have presented its evidence before an immigration judge, the federal district court in Maryland, or in criminal proceedings as it has done in prosecuting cases of other alleged MS-13 members. Instead, it chose to deport Abrego Garcia with clear disregard for the right to due process, violating an immigration order in the process (which even the administration itself admits). While this crisis is ongoing, the administration has made no effort to comply with a Supreme Court ruling to “facilitate” his release.

Abrego Garcia’s case isn’t about his alleged gang membership. It’s about the rule of law, and whether it will hold. [Continue reading…]