Topline
The return of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador is in limbo after the Trump administration challenged a district court order requiring it to provide an update on what steps it has taken to bring the man back to the U.S.
The Supreme Court said on Thursday that government must facilitate Garcia’s return to the U.S. … More
Key Facts
Maryland District Judge Paula Xinis said in a hearing Friday afternoon she will require daily updates from the government on Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s location, what efforts it has taken to return him to the U.S. and what actions it may take moving forward, according to multiple outlets.
Xinis demanded the daily updates after the Trump administration provided no information on Garcia’s status and his return to the U.S.
The Justice Department said in a filing that Maryland District Judge Paula Xinis’ order requiring it to share what steps it has taken to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia was issued with an “impracticable deadline.”
Xinis sought to have an update from the department by 11:30 a.m. EST Friday.
Xinis initially asked the Justice Department to file an update on Garcia’s return and location by 9:30 a.m. EST, but the DOJ sought more time to file their response, asking for an extension to April 15.
Xinis granted the Justice Department a partial extension to 11:30 a.m., arguing the extension request “to meaningfully review a four-page order that” reaffirms Garcia’s erroneous deportation “blinks at reality.”
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Key Background
Garcia was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in mid-March and was deported to El Salvador, where he remains in custody, according to the Justice Department. Garcia challenged his deportation and Xinis found he was deported without legal justification. Xinis said one of the reasons the deportation was unlawful was because Garcia was granted withholding of removal in 2019 after fleeing gang violence in El Salvador several years prior. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt admitted Garcia was deported over a “clerical error.” Xinis ordered the Trump administration to return Garcia to the U.S., provoking the administration to take the case to the Supreme Court, which sided with Xinis, ordered the government to facilitate Garcia’s return and said Garcia must be given “all the process to which he would have been entitled had he not been unlawfully removed to El Salvador.” The Trump administration has insisted without evidence Garcia is a gang leader and is involved in human trafficking, with Leavitt claiming there was “credible intelligence proving” the allegation. Garcia lives in Maryland with his wife and son, who are both U.S. citizens.
Further Reading
Supreme Court Orders Trump Administration To Facilitate Return Of Mistakenly Deported Maryland Man (Forbes)
Photo Shows Deported Gay Makeup Artist Andry Hernandez Romero Pleading With Guards At El Salvador’s CECOT (Forbes)
