Attorney for Kilmar Abrego Garcia Speaks to Reporters Following Supreme Court Decision
After the United States Supreme Court unanimously affirmed a district judge’s order mandating the swift return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S., attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg of the law firm Murray Osorio addressed reporters about the developments and the next steps the government must take.
Supreme Court Ruling and Specific Demands
In his remarks, Sandoval-Moshenberg explained that following the district judge’s order—and with the Supreme Court’s 9–0 decision upholding it—the government is now under clear obligation to:
Disclose the Location and Custodial Status: The court requires precise details on where Kilmar Abrego Garcia is currently being held and his status under custody.
Report on Actions Already Taken: The government must provide a comprehensive update on what steps have been taken in the period immediately after the order, notably during the interval before the Supreme Court lifted the stay.
Outline Future Steps in Detail: Beyond a general commitment, the government is compelled to specify the concrete measures it plans to implement—including naming the responsible individuals—to ensure Garcia’s prompt return to U.S. soil.
Criticism of the Government’s Handling
Sandoval-Moshenberg criticized the government for its vague and unspecific responses during court proceedings. He stated:
“We cannot accept generic promises without concrete evidence. The government’s refusal to answer straightforward questions about Mr. Garcia’s location, the steps taken so far, and those planned for his return is completely unacceptable.”
He further highlighted that the government’s counsel had yet again presented no substantive answers in court—only vague declarations that did not meet the judge’s clear directive. The attorney stressed that merely asserting that the government intends to comply is insufficient; the process must move forward with demonstrable, daily status updates.
The Path Forward and Enforcement
According to Sandoval-Moshenberg, the district judge has set a strict timeline for the government. Starting as soon as the next day, daily updates must be provided detailing:
The current custodial status of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
A precise account of every step taken and planned to facilitate his return.
“If these updates lack the necessary detail or fail to show that the government is acting with due urgency, we will promptly request further judicial intervention,” he declared. The attorney was emphatic: the return of Mr. Garcia should not face unnecessary delays, particularly when a mere five-hour flight separates him from re-entry into the United States.
National Implications and the Issue of Due Process
Sandoval-Moshenberg also addressed the broader implications of the case. He noted that the government’s repeated delays and lack of transparency have transformed what should be a routine facilitation of return into a matter of national conce
After the United States Supreme Court unanimously affirmed a district judge’s order mandating the swift return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S., attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg of the law firm Murray Osorio addressed reporters about the developments and the next steps the government must take.
Supreme Court Ruling and Specific Demands
In his remarks, Sandoval-Moshenberg explained that following the district judge’s order—and with the Supreme Court’s 9–0 decision upholding it—the government is now under clear obligation to:
Disclose the Location and Custodial Status: The court requires precise details on where Kilmar Abrego Garcia is currently being held and his status under custody.
Report on Actions Already Taken: The government must provide a comprehensive update on what steps have been taken in the period immediately after the order, notably during the interval before the Supreme Court lifted the stay.
Outline Future Steps in Detail: Beyond a general commitment, the government is compelled to specify the concrete measures it plans to implement—including naming the responsible individuals—to ensure Garcia’s prompt return to U.S. soil.
Criticism of the Government’s Handling
Sandoval-Moshenberg criticized the government for its vague and unspecific responses during court proceedings. He stated:
“We cannot accept generic promises without concrete evidence. The government’s refusal to answer straightforward questions about Mr. Garcia’s location, the steps taken so far, and those planned for his return is completely unacceptable.”
He further highlighted that the government’s counsel had yet again presented no substantive answers in court—only vague declarations that did not meet the judge’s clear directive. The attorney stressed that merely asserting that the government intends to comply is insufficient; the process must move forward with demonstrable, daily status updates.
The Path Forward and Enforcement
According to Sandoval-Moshenberg, the district judge has set a strict timeline for the government. Starting as soon as the next day, daily updates must be provided detailing:
The current custodial status of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
A precise account of every step taken and planned to facilitate his return.
“If these updates lack the necessary detail or fail to show that the government is acting with due urgency, we will promptly request further judicial intervention,” he declared. The attorney was emphatic: the return of Mr. Garcia should not face unnecessary delays, particularly when a mere five-hour flight separates him from re-entry into the United States.
National Implications and the Issue of Due Process
Sandoval-Moshenberg also addressed the broader implications of the case. He noted that the government’s repeated delays and lack of transparency have transformed what should be a routine facilitation of return into a matter of national conce
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NewsTranscript
00:00Dale, they're coming.
00:02Dale, they're coming.
00:06We went down to the White House and we took back what we stole from the land.
00:14We did back, took back our day to see.
00:19Took back all your hands to the land.
00:23We went down to the White House and we took back what we stole from the land.
00:29Les, where are you?
00:30We're here.
00:31All right.
00:38Keep, please, come on, man.
00:40Keep.
00:40I'm coming.
00:41I'm coming.
00:41I'm bringing your arms.
00:59Good afternoon.
01:06My name is Simon Sandoval-Motionberg with the law firm of Murray Osorio.
01:12This afternoon we were back in front of Judge Zinnis on remand from the United States Supreme
01:17Court, which last night issued a unanimous 9-0 decision affirming the order of the district
01:25judge that they need to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States
01:32and give him all of the due process that he should have had before he was illegally deported
01:38and that they need to do that as quickly as possible and that they need to share with
01:44the court information about what they're doing.
01:47After the Supreme Court issued that order, the district judge issued a further order clarifying
01:55her ruling and explaining that the government needs to take all steps reasonable to facilitate
02:03the return of Mr. Abrego Garcia to the United States and that in the meanwhile, it needs
02:08to provide the court with information, specifically three pieces of information.
02:13One, where is Mr. Abrego Garcia right now?
02:17What is his custodial status?
02:20Two, what has the government done so far to try to bring him back?
02:26There were several days when the court's order was in effect prior to the Supreme Court entering
02:32a stay and now it's been more than 12 hours since the Supreme Court lifted the stay.
02:39What has the government done during that time to bring him back?
02:45And then three, what is the government planning to do to carry out the court's order, which
02:52is again to take all reasonable steps to facilitate the return of Mr. Abrego Garcia to the United
02:58States as quickly as possible?
03:01The government refused to provide any of those pieces of information that the judge ordered them
03:07to provide.
03:09Not only the information about what future steps they're planning to take, they even refused
03:15to answer the question about what they've done so far.
03:18And they even refused to answer the question about where Kilmer Abrego Garcia is today.
03:24For the second time in this case, they sent a lawyer into court who had no answers.
03:31He explained that his clients, the government, have chosen not to give him any information,
03:36not to give him any evidence.
03:39And the district judge appropriately was not willing to accept their vague and unsubstantiated
03:49assertions that, don't worry judge, we'll take care of this all in due course.
03:56The government attorney did say that they intend to comply with the order and bring him back.
04:02That's the bare minimum.
04:03They should have done that already.
04:04They've had plenty of time between the Supreme Court's order early yesterday evening and
04:09now.
04:10He should be here in the United States.
04:11It's a five hour flight.
04:15So the judge ordered that they provide detailed status updates on a daily basis, including as
04:23soon as tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.
04:26She's going to give our legal team the opportunity to respond to each one of those.
04:34We are also, as plaintiff's counsel, we are not going to accept the government's generic
04:39and unsubstantiated assertions that they're working on this, that they're considering it,
04:44that they're debating it, that they're taking steps.
04:46We are also going to be insisting that they provide specific concrete details to the court,
04:51as well as specific names of specific individuals who actually know what is going on, instead
04:58of declarations or pleading signed by lawyers who then come into court and say, I actually
05:03have no personal knowledge.
05:06And then we'll be back in court on Wednesday.
05:08Simon, what does the judge, what power does this judge have if, in fact, she doesn't get
05:15satisfactory answers from the judge?
05:18The judge has considerable power to enforce her orders.
05:22What can she do?
05:24We are going to trust that after today's very strong words from the judge, the government
05:35is going to provide a meaningful and detailed status update tomorrow, Saturday.
05:43But if they don't, we'll respond.
05:45And we'll tell the judge, you know, what relief we think she should order.
05:48Do you believe that when they say the U.S. government, you don't need to look at me
05:51like that, the U.S. government will comply with the order of the Supreme Court.
05:55How do you take that statement?
06:00The judge has, I'm grateful, I shouldn't need to be grateful that they're going to comply
06:06with an order of the United States Supreme Court.
06:08But we are grateful, at the very least, that they acknowledge that they're going to comply
06:10with the order of the United States Supreme Court.
06:13The judge is very appropriately requiring them to provide daily updates about the steps
06:19that they're taking in order to do that.
06:22And if those updates are either, A, not sufficiently detailed, or B, reflect that they're not moving
06:29with all due haste, we are going to be back in front of the judge requesting relief.
06:35What did you think of their disagreement with her about what the Supreme Court had actually ordered?
06:40I think the judge sort of appropriately shut that down very quickly by saying that the Supreme Court
06:47affirmed her order, asked for clarification on one verb, and she provided that clarification
06:54in her subsequent order yesterday evening.
06:59Sir, I'd like to know, how concerned are you that you've not been able to talk to your client,
07:03and what relief will you seek if you don't get the answer to what you seek?
07:08I can't get into details about what relief we're going to be seeking.
07:10It really does depend on what the government comes up with in their next filing.
07:15What I can say is that we're not going to be sitting back and sort of waiting to see
07:18what they have to say on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.
07:24If they don't take this judge, this order, if they don't take today's order seriously,
07:27we'll respond seriously.
07:29Can I not ask for the court to immediately send Mr. Abrego Garcia back?
07:35Because this could potentially push things off all the way until next week.
07:41The court already ordered that last night.
07:44The court ordered the government to take all reasonable steps to facilitate the return of Mr. Abrego Garcia.
07:51So I didn't need to come into court today and ask the judge to order again what she already ordered last night.
07:56Now the question is, how are we going to know if the government is actually doing that?
08:00And that's what the judge put some very, very, very fine point on today.
08:05Simon, you've had cases where you said that ICE has actually gone and bent over backwards
08:11and bring people back who were deported illegally.
08:14How quickly were those cases carried out?
08:17Anything close to what's happening here?
08:20Yeah, there's no reason that this case needed to become a national issue.
08:25There's no reason that this case needed to go to the United States Supreme Court.
08:29And it's been the government that's done that at every step of the way.
08:32It's been the government that turned this into a national issue.
08:35It was the government who appealed the judge's original, very reasonable and modest order
08:40all the way up to the United States Supreme Court.
08:43And now it's the government who is coming into court saying,
08:48yes, judge, we blew off your first deadline.
08:50We haven't yet taken any steps or we're not prepared to show you what steps we've taken to comply with your order.
08:57Wrongful deportations happen from time to time.
09:02And when the government realizes that they've done that, they facilitate the return.
09:07They have a policy about it.
09:09Courts have ordered it all up and down the United States for years.
09:14We've provided several examples in our briefing.
09:16And the Supreme Court didn't have any issue whatsoever.
09:21Nine to zero unanimously agreed that the district judge's order that they facilitate his return was absolutely proper,
09:31is in effect today, right now.
09:33There was one verb that they weren't sure what it meant.
09:35They asked her to clarify it and she didn't.
09:37The Supreme Court has requested just an update on how anybody's doing.
09:42They weren't even able to provide that today.
09:45Your response to it?
09:46Yeah, that was the most shocking thing of all,
09:48that the attorney for the government wasn't even prepared to answer the question,
09:52where is Kilmer Abrego today and what is his custodial status?
09:56I was very dismayed and disheartened by the fact that they wouldn't answer such a straightforward question.
10:03And your position is you know nothing about his current state?
10:07No, neither we nor the family have been able to make any contact with him.
10:11This is one of the principal human rights violations that occurs in that facility,
10:15is that inmates and detainees in that facility are held incommunicado.
10:21Simon, how disappointing is it that the government is pushing back and fighting this effort that you guys are trying to bring it back to the country?
10:28I had really hoped that after a 9-0 loss at the United States Supreme Court,
10:33they would essentially say, all right, we get it and start acting in good faith.
10:38I do have hope that now that they've seen that the district judge is not going to be taking this lightly,
10:48that they will start acting in good faith and that we're actually going to see a meaningful status report tomorrow
10:54that's going to detail meaningful activity taking place.
10:58But of course, if they don't, we'll be prepared to respond.
11:01Attorney, what if President Bukele says that there are charges against Salvador,
11:04would that mean that he wouldn't need to come back?
11:07I think it's preposterous that there be charges against him in El Salvador.
11:11He hasn't been in that country since the age of 16, about a decade ago.
11:14But in your reply, you noted that the Solicitor General was claiming that there may be reasons for El Salvador to hold him.
11:26The Solicitor General, in their last brief to the United States Supreme Court,
11:30sort of made a vague, kind of waved their hands and said,
11:33well, we might have some information that El Salvador might have some reason that they want to hold him.
11:38What we responded is, essentially in keeping with what the judge said at the very start of the first hearing in this case last week,
11:47she started the first hearing in this case by saying,
11:49I'm going to decide this case based on the evidence in the record.
11:52And there's no evidence in the record of any criminality, gang ties, any of that stuff.
11:59I mean, at this point, I have to assume that if they had any of that evidence, they would have filed it.
12:03And that's essentially what the judge said today.
12:05Again, she reiterated, I'm going to assume, based on the fact that you haven't filed any evidence,
12:11that you have no evidence.
12:13Well, the judge, after all of the allegations of the Supreme Court of America,
12:19it was a clear decision, and that the judge just was correct.
12:21Sure, I will ask you, what the judge in the event were paid in this case?
12:25How many would have been administered today?
12:27Well, the judge did, after all of the case in the Supreme Court that happened,
12:29after all of the cases, which happened in a criminal decision,
12:31a department that happened, right?
12:33That now, when the case of the Supreme Court obeyed the Supreme Court of America
12:37to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego García to the United States,
12:42taking all the possible steps as soon as possible, as soon as possible.
12:48That was the mistake of the Supreme Court.
12:51In the Supreme Court, there was a word,
12:54which is the word, effectuar,
12:56which the Supreme Court said,
12:58well, we are not sure what the judge wanted to say when she said effectuar,
13:02and so this night, the night of ayer,
13:06put a new order explicating that effectuar means
13:11taking all the reasonable steps possible
13:14for Kilmar to return to the United States.
13:19Then the judge said,
13:21okay, then you also have to tell me three things.
13:25First, where is Kilmar and under which custody is.
13:29Second, what is what they have done until the date?
13:33Right, because they have already had a week,
13:36and during the half of this week, the order of the judge was in effect.
13:41What did they do during this time to effect my order?
13:46To make my order?
13:47To make my order?
13:48To make my order?
13:49And third, what is what they are going to do
13:52to be able to do?
13:54To make my order of the U.S.
13:55To make my order of the U.S.
13:56to make my order of the U.S.
13:57To make my order of the U.S.
13:59La jueza puso una fecha límite. Antes de la audiencia de hoy, Estados Unidos, el gobierno tenía que contestar esas tres preguntas. No lo hicieron.
14:12Entonces, la jueza puso una orden. Bueno, primero reafirmó su orden de que Estados Unidos tiene que traerlo de regreso tan pronto posible.
14:21Y segundo, ordenó que diariamente, incluso fin de semana, tienen que dar una actualización a la corte detallada y de una persona que tiene conocimiento personal, no un abogado, sino un oficial del gobierno, tiene que actualizar a la corte diariamente de qué es lo que se está haciendo.
14:43Va a haber otra audiencia el miércoles, pero entre aquí y miércoles, si nosotros no estamos conformes con lo que el gobierno está haciendo o con el nivel de detalle que el gobierno está dando sobre sus acciones, nosotros siempre podemos someter algo por escrito a la corte.
15:02Abogado, ¿qué opciones tiene la jueza si el gobierno no le da esta información que ella solicitó? ¿Cuáles son las opciones para hacer cumplir esta orden?
15:11Y en segundo lugar, si me permite, dada la nueva explicación de la jueza sobre la orden, ¿existe usted, reconoce, un escenario donde el gobierno cumpla la orden y aún así no regrese su defendido?
15:21La jueza tiene bastante poder para enforzar sus propias órdenes.
15:28Lo que está haciendo en este momento, y es correcto, es dar al gobierno básicamente una breve oportunidad para cumplir, mejor dicho, por las buenas.
15:38Pero no vamos a estar con brazos cruzados entre aquí y el miércoles, definitivamente vamos a estar contestando diariamente cada actualización del gobierno y dando nuestro punto de vista a la jueza.
15:53De ahí, yo no creo que hay nadie en este país que crea que Estados Unidos es impotente para traer a Kilmer de nuevo.
16:08Yo creo que todo el mundo sabe que está ahí en El Salvador, que está ahí en esta cárcel en El Salvador, porque Estados Unidos lo puso allá.
16:15Y que prácticamente sacarlo de ahí, pedir que se lo devuelven a la embajada estadounidense en Santa Tecla para traerlo de nuevo, es algo realmente sencillo.
16:28Y si nosotros se lo pedimos al gobierno de El Salvador de buena fe, si nosotros hacemos esta solicitud, pues yo y yo creo que todo este país entiende que el gobierno de El Salvador no tiene razón para no cumplir con esa solicitud.
16:50Y si el gobierno de El Salvador no tiene ningún tipo de estatus updates, ¿cuál remedio es la que nos da remunerar a la quinta?
17:03Que Mr. Rubén García va a ser sentado de vuelta?
17:07No, no, no, no.
17:10I can't get into right now, you know, sort of if-then kind of scenarios about remedies, but you know, I mean, we've been working with the law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart-Sullivan.
17:19They've assigned, I think, more than a dozen attorneys to this case.
17:24They've done a fantastic job of briefing this case.
17:28The Supreme Court asked us to file a brief on Tuesday at 5.
17:32We filed it by Monday at 5, and we're going to leave no stone unturned in asking the judge
17:40for the appropriate remedies if the government doesn't comply with her orders.
17:49Do you repeat what you said about there's three things that they're being asked to do,
18:07and every single day the judges expect them to do it?
18:11There's one thing that they're being asked to do.
18:13The one thing they're being asked to do is to take all reasonable steps to facilitate
18:17the return of Kilmer Abrego-Garcia.
18:19In the meanwhile, they're asked to provide three pieces of information.
18:23One is, what is the current status of Mr. Abrego-Garcia?
18:26Where is he and under whose custody?
18:28Two, what steps have you taken to date?
18:31And then three, essentially, what's the plan?
18:33What steps are you going to take going forward?
18:36But the thing that the government was asked to do was to bring him back, and that's what
18:39they need to really get started on now.
18:41No more games.
18:42What's your take on why he's saying, well, this is in fact, it seems like a very straightforward
18:46thing.
18:47Is it just book dragging, or do you really think that there's, is there some legal argument
18:52that they can possibly come up with?
18:54No.
18:55I think there's, again, I don't think there's anyone in this country who believes the government
19:01when they say, well, we don't, you know, we don't know how to do this.
19:03We can't, we can't figure out how to get someone out of a Salvadoran jail.
19:07They got Kristi Noem out of a Salvadoran jail, right?
19:09I mean, they can get Kilmer Abrego Garcia out of that same jail.
19:14I just want to ask you, what was your reaction when they didn't want to answer, where did
19:21you find him?
19:23I really was incredible when the judge of the government said that he couldn't answer the
19:29question so simple, where is Kilmer and under which custody is.
19:33It's incredible that he couldn't even give that data he could give to the court.
19:39And what it demonstrates is that, really, the government is playing with a human life.
19:46They're taking it as a legal issue, a political issue.
19:49That's not a political issue, that's a human issue.
19:52That's a very simple case.
19:54That's a very simple case.
19:56They made a mistake.
19:58They made a mistake.
20:00They made a mistake.
20:01They made a mistake.
20:02And they made a mistake.
20:03They made every day.
20:04And they told themselves that they were doing that in the final step.
20:05And now, they have to do this.
20:06They have to deal with the dilemma.
20:07And now they have to do this.
20:08They have to do this.
20:09I'm sorry, why would you take this.
20:10But we didn't do that.
20:11Supreme Court, that has been the government from the beginning, and now it's time to stop
20:16playing.
20:17I know that the family doesn't want to talk about it, but you have talked about them.
20:20What is the sense that they are in this moment?
20:22I can't talk about them in this moment.
20:25The President Trump said that at the beginning, he thought that he was a way to understand
20:30that.
20:31Do you know that at the beginning, he said that he was a way to understand that?
20:34They've said a lot of things, from the Casa Blanca, from the press, in tweets, but
20:41I'm an advocate, and in this case, in the court, they've not submitted a single page of evidence
20:48in their contra.
20:49All right, thank you.
20:54Let me tell you that.
20:59Let me tell you that.
21:02Let me tell you.
21:03Let me tell you.
21:05Let me tell you.
21:07Let me tell you.
21:08Let me tell you.
21:10let me tell you.
21:38You know it, right?
21:39Yes.