Trump administration officials are slated to appear in federal court this afternoon for what’s expected to be a fiery hearing over the deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident removed to El Salvador last month in what officials have acknowledged was an “administrative error.”
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the hearing after government lawyers failed to comply with multiple court directives regarding Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. – with the Supreme Court most recently ordering the administration to “facilitate” his release from Salvadorian custody and resume his immigration proceedings as if he were never removed.
The administration’s apparent refusal to act – or even clarify Abrego Garcia’s whereabouts – has pushed the case to a boiling point, raising the prospect that Xinis could hold the Trump administration in contempt.
In addition to filing incomplete status updates and refusing to answer questions about Abrego Garcia’s whereabouts or efforts to secure his return, Trump officials suggested at the White House on Monday that the U.S. lacks the authority to bring him back.
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Xinis will weigh these developments as the court considers next steps in the case, including whether to pursue civil contempt proceedings against the administration.
Last night, the Trump administration failed to include in its daily status update to the court answers to any of the three questions sought by the judge. These included the location and custodial status of Garcia; what steps the government has taken to facilitate his return, and what steps the government is planning in order to make that happen.
Xinis previously called the government’s refusal to answer these questions “extremely troubling.”
Tensions soared Monday during a White House visit from Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele, whose government is receiving $6 million from the U.S. to detain migrants at its sprawling maximum-security prison, CECOT – including alleged members of MS-13 and the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
While Trump allies and immigration hawks have praised the removals, critics warn these rapid deportations may violate due process protections under the U.S. Constitution, and they cite concerns that the individuals deported may not have had a chance to challenge their removals in court.
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Abrego Garcia, for his part, was deported from the U.S. to El Salvador last month without a hearing. The Trump administration, including U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer, has acknowledged in court documents his removal was an “administrative error.”
Asked Monday about progress in returning Abrego Garcia to U.S. soil, Trump officials said his return was “up to El Salvador” and that the U.S. would “provide a plane” – appearing to ignore a court order to facilitate his return.
“That’s up to El Salvador if they want to return him,” Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters. “That’s not up to us.”
This contention was backed by other Cabinet officials, including White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, and by Salvadorian President Bukele himself.
“How can I return him to the United States? Like if I smuggle him into the United States?” Bukele told reporters Monday during a sit-down with President Donald Trump and other senior administration officials.
“Of course I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous,” he said.
Hours later, Trump administration lawyers breezed past a 5 p.m. court-ordered deadline set by Xinis to file a daily status update on their efforts to return Abrego Garcia to U.S. soil.
Justice Department lawyers said in a weekend filing they are not required to comply with a judge’s order to “facilitate” his return, arguing the courts, in their view, “have no authority to direct the Executive Branch to conduct foreign relations in a particular way, or engage with a foreign sovereign in a given manner.”
Trump officials continue to publicly rail against so-called “activist judges,” whom they have argued are attempting to stymie Trump’s agenda and his priorities on immigration enforcement.
As of this writing, the Trump administration has not returned any of the individuals who have been sent to El Salvador’s sprawling, high-security prison, including any Venezuelan nationals who may have been mistakenly identified as members of the Tren de Aragua gang, as well as Abrego Garcia.
