The high-profile immigration case of Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia has triggered a wave of oustings and resignations at the Justice Department, clearing the way for the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation policies.
Abrego Garcia’s legal battles have dominated headlines for months, spotlighting how far the Justice Department is willing to go to enforce President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration agenda—even if it means removing career officials who might internally resist.
In Maryland, veteran DOJ prosecutor and then-acting deputy director of the Office of Immigration Litigation, Erez Reuveni, was placed on indefinite leave and subsequently fired after conceding to U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis that Abrego Garcia had been deported to El Salvador due to an “administrative error.”
Reuveni had received prior commendations during Trump’s first term, making the firing a clear signal of zero tolerance for internal dissent.
Reuveni’s supervisor, August Flentje, was also placed on leave, as Fox News reported.
Both men had testified that Abrego Garcia’s removal had violated a prior withholding of removal order granted in 2019. Robert Cerna, acting field director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, confirmed in sworn testimony that Abrego Garcia had been sent on a third flight to El Salvador in error. Cerna’s