Pam Bondi rips into her own DOJ employee who argued against Donald Trump's latest migrant order

Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the Justice Departments decision to suspend an attorney who did not enthusiastically defend the Trump administrations position on a major deportation case.

Erez Reuveni, the federal attorney, argued in court Friday on behalf of the Trump administration that he did not know why a Maryland man accused of being an MS-13 gang member was deported to El Salvador.  

Salvadorian Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, has an American wife and son and lived in Maryland before being deported to El Salvador last month. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) testifies he is a gang member, Bondi says, though lawyers for the migrant have reportedly denied that. 

Reuveni, who was supposed to argue on behalf of the Justice Department for why Abrego Garcia was rightfully removed, stunningly tossed his case, admitting to Judge Paula Xinis that the migrant should not have been removed.

I’m also frustrated that I have no answers for you for a lot of these questions, Reuveni told the judge at one point. 

A 15-year veteran of the immigration division, federal attorney was then suspended by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche for not effectively executing his position. 

Bondi, speaking on Fox News Sunday, told host Shannon Bream Reuveni should have never been put on the case to begin with. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News Sundays Shannon Bream that DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni should have never been placed on the case regarding a Maryland father who was deported to El Salvador for being a suspected MS-13 member 

This undated photo provided by CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Abrego Garcia is now in detention in the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador

Our client in this matter is Homeland Security, Bondi said. [Reuveni] did not argue for it, he should not have taken the case.

She also confirmed that the Justice Department employee had been placed on administrative leave. 

On day one I issued a memo that you are to vigorously advocate on behalf of the United States, Bondi continued. You have to vigorously argue on behalf of your clients.

The attorney general likened Reuvenis behavior to a criminal defense lawyer admitting their client is guilty. 

Well see what happens, Bondi said, indicating that a review is underway. 

When reached for comment a DOJ official sent DailyMail.com a copy of Bondis February 3, 2025, memo requesting all department employees emphatically take up the cause of their clients. 

Attorneys are expected to zealously advance, protect, and defend their clients interests, the memo stated. 

Any attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences, Bondi said in a statement provided to DailyMail.com. 

Abrego Garcia arrived in El Salvador on March 15 

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, speaks during a news conference at CASAs Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., Friday, April 4, 2025

Abrego Garcias wife wipes away tears at a press conference about her husband 

Though Bondi is clearly sending a warning to Reuveni and other likeminded DOJ employees, the Trump administration has already admitted that it sent Abrego Garcia to El Salvador on accident. 

Through administrative error, Abrego-Garcia was removed from the United States to El Salvador, Trumps legal team said in paperwork filed in the migrants case. 

This was an oversight, and the removal was carried out in good faith based on the existence of a final order of removal and Abrego-Garcia’s purported membership in MS-13.

Abrego Garcia arrived at the notorious supermax El Salvador prison CECOT on March 15. 

Judge Xinis ordered the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. by Monday, however, the administration attempted to get another court to nullify that order by arguing they have no power to release the migrant from the Salvadorian prison.

On Friday, she noted how the DOJ had yet to make a compelling argument about why Abrego Garcia should stay in El Salvador. 

In a court of law, when someone is accused of membership in such a violent and predatory organization, it comes in the form of an indictment, complaint, criminal proceeding — a robust process, so we can address the facts, Xinis said. 

I haven’t yet heard that from the government.