The lawyers representing Kilmar Abrego Garcia have asked a federal judge for permission to take three additional depositions – from representatives of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the State Department and the Department of Justice (DOJ) – regarding what steps, if any, the Trump administration has taken to facilitate the illegal immigrant and alleged MS-13 gang member’s release from custody in El Salvador.
In a motion filed Wednesday, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland to order the government to designate individuals from DHS, the State Department and the DOJ “who can testify about information known or reasonably available to each Department.” They cited a federal rule to prevent “bandying” of organizations, saying this way would be “the most efficient and least intrusive approach to obtain the necessary discovery.”
“By allowing the Government to identify its own Rule 30(b)(6) representatives, Plaintiffs hope to avoid imposing the burden on the heads of the Departments to testify, while properly putting the onus on the Government to prepare their chosen representatives with the Departments’ complete knowledge of the narrow issues at stake in this case,” they wrote.
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They noted the court has already approved four depositions, three of which have already taken place, yet “plaintiffs are still in the dark about the government’s efforts to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s release from custody and return to the United States.”
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said they also might request that someone from the White House testify.
“In fact, as seems apparent from its public statements, this case also involves decisionmaking at the White House in addition to the three Departments,” they wrote. “Accordingly, depending on the testimony obtained in any authorized Department depositions, Plaintiffs may need to seek additional testimony from an appropriately knowledgeable representative of the White House.”
The motion is redacted in portions with excerpts of depositions that have already taken place regarding Abrego Garcia’s location and custodial status.
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In a two-page order Wednesday, Xinis – who was appointed by former President Barack Obama – said the Trump administration was invoking the “state secrets privilege” to avoid answering a judge’s questions about Abrego Garcia’s deportation.
The judge set a May 12 deadline for both parties to submit briefs “addressing the legal and factual bases for the invocation of those privileges,” and set a May 16 court hearing on the matter in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said that Abrego Garcia “is a citizen of El Salvador and should never have been in this country, and will not be coming back to this country.”
“There is no scenario where Abrego Garcia will be in the United States again,” Noem said. “If he were to come back, we would immediately deport him again, because he is a terrorist. He’s a human smuggler, and he is a wife beater. ”
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The secretary added that Abrego Garcia “is not a citizen of this country and is a dangerous individual who does not belong.”
The Trump administration initially admitted that Abrego Garcia had been deported to El Salvador in error, but has since doubled down on his alleged MS-13 membership and documented abuse of his wife while living illegally in Maryland.
