Judge demands to know if White House is helping return wrongly deported Maryland man : NPR

A Maryland federal judge wants to find out if government officials are acting in “bad faith” in the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly sent to a notorious Salvadoran prison.

Judge Paula Xinis on Tuesday called for a two-week process of “expedited discovery,” including questioning government officials under oath, to learn whether the government is doing enough to try to bring him back.

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen, had lived in Maryland for about 15 years before he was deported to El Salvador last month, despite being granted protections by an U.S. immigration judge. He is in custody in Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s mega-prison, known as CECOT. The Supreme Court said the Trump administration should facilitate his return.

“It is a fact now, of this record: every day he is detained in CECOT is a day of irreparable harm,” Xinis said from the bench on Tuesday. “We have to give process to both sides but we are going to move. No tolerance for gamesmanship and grandstanding.”

Lawyers for the Justice Department and those representing Abrego Garcia have one week to conduct depositions of Joseph Mazzara, the acting general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, as well as of acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office director Robert Cerna, and of other officials who have filed declarations before the court.

The hearing is the first courtroom appearance about Abrego Garcia’s case since Bukele met with President Trump in the Oval Office on Monday, and told reporters that he is not going to “smuggle a terrorist into the United States.”

The U.S. government has accused Abrego Garcia of being a member of the MS-13 gang, which the Trump administration has since designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers dispute that he is a member of the gang, and say he doesn’t have a criminal record.

In a court filing ahead of the hearing, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers argued “the Government should at least be required to request the release of Abrego Garcia” — and that to date it has not done so.

The Department of Homeland Security said it “prepared to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s presence in the United States in accordance with those processes if he presents at a port of entry,” Mazzara said in a declaration filed minutes before the hearing began.

However, Mazarra said that if Abrego Garcia does appear at a port of entry to the U.S., he would be detained by DHS and either removed to a third country, or the government would go through a judicial process to try to send him back to El Salvador.

Oval Office meeting as evidence

The DOJ also filed a transcript of Monday’s press conference in the Oval Office. Judge Xinis challenged the claims made by Drew Ensign, a lawyer for the Justice Department, regarding the efforts to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia. Xinis dismissed references to White House comments as “nonresponsive” and emphasized the need for concrete evidence of the administration’s actions to release Abrego Garcia from CECOT. The White House maintains that its actions are in compliance with court orders, as stated by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Meanwhile, El Salvador’s President Bukele has stated that he lacks the power to bring Abrego Garcia back. Last week, the Supreme Court upheld Judge Xinis’ decision requiring the federal government to assist in Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and ensure his case is handled appropriately. However, the Court also emphasized the importance of considering the Executive Branch’s authority in foreign affairs when interpreting the decision.

Several administration officials have highlighted the need for deference to El Salvador’s President Bukele regarding Abrego Garcia’s return. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that if El Salvador wished to return him, the U.S. would facilitate the process. However, President Bukele has indicated that he does not have the authority to send Abrego Garcia back.

It was revealed during a press conference that an administrative error led to Abrego Garcia’s deportation. Despite entering the country illegally, he was granted a withholding of removal in 2019, preventing his deportation to El Salvador. His attorney confirmed that he had a work permit, which had been renewed regularly.

The situation underscores the complexities of immigration policies and the need for careful consideration of diplomatic relations between countries.