Some in Media Misunderstand Law Regarding Garcia

WASHINGTON - April 22, 2025 - PRLog -- - Many reporters who cover the White House flunked a recent test to see if they knew even the basics of the law related to the situation of Abrego Garcia.  They all flunked!

Asked what would happen if Garcia was brought back to the U.S., many thought he would be returned to his family.  That's incorrect!

Asked if they knew the difference between a deportation order and withholding order, not a single participating reporter was able to answer correctly.

The legally correct answer, says Banzhaf, is that an order of deportation had already been issued years ago after a legal proceeding during which Garcia received due process.  So, even if he were somehow brought back to the U.S., he would be deported; he would not be allowed to return to his family and his studies.

Those supporters who do have a better understanding of the law are insisting that Garcia be returned to the U.S. so that his WOR can be revoked by an administrative judge at a hearing.

But virtually all commentators seem to assume that such an 8 C.F.R. § 208.24(f) hearing before an immigration judge can only be held in the U.S.

But this is also incorrect, notes Banzhaf, because it fails to consider a simple and frequently used alternative: a video teleconference hearing over the Internet [Internet-Based Hearing] while Garcia is still in El Salvador,

Indeed, the court's written decision validates as legally permissible an analysis (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/washington-secret...) Banzhaf published much earlier which could keep Garcia in El Salvador while still providing him with the due process which the law requires.

Such a hearing could be held via video teleconference (Internet-Based Hearing or Hearing by Video Conference) with Garcia (and perhaps his lawyer) in El Salvador, and the other participants in the U.S.

The use of such Internet-based hearings by immigration authorities is very frequent and well established

Since the hearing would be held before an immigration judge who is an employee of the Department of Justice, and his boss (the Attorney General) has argued very strongly against returning Garcia to the U.S., the immigration judge is quite likely to terminate Garcia's WOR status.

In short, a single hearing over the Internet from El Salvador could both revoke Garcia's WOR protection against being sent to El Salvador, and also reaffirm his order of removal from the U.S., says Banzhaf, although whether that's the way the Trump administration wishes to proceed is far from clear.

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