White House Defies Judge's Order on Wrongly Deported Maryland Man

The Department of Justice on Friday said that U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis' order to facilitate the return of deported Maryland resident Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia from El Salvador has an "impracticable deadline."

On Thursday night, Xinis ordered the Trump administration to "take all available steps to facilitate the return" of a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador known as CECOT.

The directive from Xinis follows a U.S. Supreme Court decision on Thursday, rejecting the administration's emergency appeal of her April 4 order requiring the return of Abrego Garcia, whom the U.S. government claims is a member of MS-13. The high court's ruling reinforces that the government must act to correct the wrongful deportation.

On Friday, DOJ wrote in a new court filing, "Defendants are unable to provide the information requested by the Court on the impracticable deadline set by the Court hours after the Supreme Court issued its order."

"Defendants are not in a position where they 'can' share any information requested by the Court. That is the reality."

Why It Matters

Abrego Garcia was one of over 200 immigrants deported to CECOT on March 15, under the Alien Enemies Act, but officials later admitted his removal was an "administrative error", as a judge had ordered in 2019 that he could not be deported to his home country.

What To Know

Judge Xinis had ordered the Trump administration to show what steps it was taking to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return by 9:30 a.m. ET Friday, later allowing an additional few hours when the DOJ appealed.

"First, the Defendants' act of sending Abrego Garcia to El Salvador was wholly illegal from the moment it happened, and Defendants have been on notice of the same," Xinis wrote in her order granting a deadline extension Friday morning.

The DOJ argued in its response that it had been under no obligation to act while Xinis' original order was paused by Chief Justice John Roberts last week, so it had not had sufficient time to begin working again.

The pushback on offering up information came just before a court hearing at 1 p.m. ET in Maryland on the case, where Xinis again asked the DOJ for details on its work to bring back the Salvadoran national.

Attorneys for the DOJ said they did not have any information, with the judge responding: "The Supreme Court has spoken quite clearly and yet I can't get an answer".

The DOJ also said it could not provide information on where Abrego Garcia was, while again asking for more time to comply with the Supreme Court's order.

Those fighting on behalf of Abrego Garcia say the 29-year-old is a hardworking father who has no confirmed ties to the MS-13 gang, despite the claim from federal authorities.

When he was originally arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2019, a judge ruled he was in the country illegally but could not be deported back to his home country, due to fear of persecution by a rival gang.

He was then arrested on March 12 and taken to Louisiana, before the removal to CECOT.

U.S. officials argue they no longer have jurisdiction over him, as he is being held at the Salvadoran prison.

What People Are Saying

Judge Xinis, in court Friday: "We're not going to slow-walk this... we're not relitigating what the Supreme Court has already put to bed."

Drew Ensign, DOJ attorney, in response: "We read the Supreme Court's order differently."

What's Next

Judge Xinis ordered the government provide daily updates to the court on its actions to bring back Abrego Garcia, pending a further ruling.