The Justice Department is urging a district court to postpone the deadlines for a case involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia due to the agency’s lack of funding during the government shutdown.
“Absent an appropriation, Department of Justice attorneys and employees of the federal Defendants are prohibited from working, even on a voluntary basis, except in very limited circumstances, including ‘emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property,’” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate wrote in a court filing.
Abrego Garcia previously filed a civil suit challenging the Department of Homeland Security over its threats to deport him, and a hearing for it is scheduled on Monday.
Abrego Garcia’s civil case is one of two routes he’s been using to fight his deportation. He’s also attempted to reopen a motion to seek asylum, a claim an immigration judge denied on Wednesday, per ABC News.
DOJ attorneys have urged the district court to effectively freeze the deadlines in the civil case until Congress approves more funding. They note, however, that Abrego Garcia does not support this pause.
