Last month, the U.S. government deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a native of El Salvador who has lived in Maryland for the past 15 years — ignoring a federal court order forbidding his removal. 

Garcia, who was detained for alleged association with the MS-13 gang, is now being detained at the Center for Terrorism Confinement in El Salvador. And the Trump administration insists it’s not required to engage El Salvador’s government to bring him back. 

Trump’s defiance of court orders at the national level, is also having a local impact. 

In February, the Trump administration eliminated a legal aid program serving about 26,000 migrant children. The legal aid program was stopped in defiance of a federal judge’s orders. Already, the move has led to the Michigan Immigration Rights Center laying off half of its staff.

To discuss this defiance to court orders by the Trump administration, University of Michigan law professor, legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney General for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara McQuade returned to The Metro.

Editor's note: The Metro reached out to Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall and Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt. We have yet to hear back from them. 

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