Trump officials must report efforts, if any, to return Kilmar Abrego
Garcia, judge rules
[May 01, 2025]
By BEN FINLEY
A federal judge on Wednesday again directed the Trump administration to
provide information about its efforts so far, if any, to comply with her
order to retrieve Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an El Salvador prison.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland temporarily halted her
directive for information at the administration’s request last week. But
with the seven-day pause expiring at 5 p.m., she set May deadlines for
officials to provide sworn testimony on anything they have done to
return him to the U.S.
Abrego Garcia, 29, has been imprisoned in his native El Salvador for
nearly seven weeks, while his mistaken deportation has become a flash
point for President Donald Trump's immigration policies and his
increasing friction with the U.S. courts.
The president acknowledged to ABC News on Tuesday that he could call El
Salvador's president and have Abrego Garcia sent back. But Trump doubled
down on his claims that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang.
“And if he were the gentleman that you say he is, I would do that,”
Trump told ABC's Terry Moran in the Oval Office.
Police in Maryland had identified Abrego Garcia as an MS-13 gang member
in 2019 based off his tattoos, Chicago Bulls hoodie and the word of a
criminal informant. But Abrego Garcia was never charged. His attorneys
say the informant claimed Abrego Garcia was in an MS-13 chapter in New
York, where he's never lived.
The gang identification by local police prompted the Trump
administration to expel Abrego Garcia in March to an infamous El
Salvador prison. But the deportation violated a U.S. immigration judge’s
order in 2019 that protected him from being sent to El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia had demonstrated to the immigration court that he likely
faced persecution by local Salvadoran gangs that terrorized him and his
family, court records state. He fled to the U.S. at 16 and lived in
Maryland for about 14 years, working construction, getting married and
raising three kids.
Xinis ordered the Trump administration to return him nearly a month ago,
on April 4. The Supreme Court ruled April 10 that the administration
must work to bring him back.
But the case only became more heated. Xinis lambasted a government
lawyer who couldn’t explain what, if anything, the Trump administration
has done. She then ordered officials to provide sworn testimony and
other information to document their efforts.
[to top of second column]
|
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., accompanied by Cesar Abrego Garcia,
from left, and Cecilia Garcia, speaks during a news conference upon
his arrival from meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador,
at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va.,
Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
The Trump administration appealed. But a federal appeals court
backed Xinis’ order for information in a blistering ruling, saying,
"we shall not micromanage the efforts of a fine district judge
attempting to implement the Supreme Court’s recent decision.”
The Trump administration resisted, saying the information Xinis
sought involved protected state secrets and government
deliberations. She in turn scolded government lawyers for ignoring
her orders and acting in “bad faith.”
The judge has directed U.S. attorneys to provide specific
justifications for their claims of privileged information. But her
order could face continued resistance.
When a reporter asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday
whether he has had any conversations with El Salvador about
returning Abrego Garcia, Rubio said foreign policy should not be
discussed with judges.
“Well, I’ll never tell you that. And you know who else I’ll never
tell? A judge,” Rubio said during a Cabinet meeting. “Because the
conduct of all foreign policy belongs to the president of the United
States and the executive branch, not some judge.”
Meanwhile, attorneys for Abrego Garcia said Wednesday that the
administration was moving toward bringing him back when it asked for
a pause in the court case.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to an email
seeking comment on the law firm's statement.
“We agreed to that request because we understood it to be made in
good faith,” the firm, Murray Osorio PLLC, said in a news release.
“Unfortunately, one week later, it remains unclear what, if
anything, the government has done in the past seven days to bring
our client home to his family.”
___
Associated Press reporters Alanna Durkin Richer and Seung Min Kim in
Washington contributed to this report.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
