By Blake Brittain and Tom Hals
GREENBELT, Maryland (Reuters) -A U.S. federal judge said on Friday it was “extremely troubling” that the Trump administration failed to comply with her court order to provide details on the status of a Maryland resident it illegally deported to El Salvador.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis demanded at a hearing that the administration identify the whereabouts of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was sent to El Salvador on March 15 despite an order protecting him from deportation, and update her daily on its efforts to secure his return.
Abrego Garcia’s family sued to challenge the legality of his deportation and on April 4 Xinis ordered the administration to “facilitate and effectuate” his return. The administration challenged that order at the Supreme Court, which upheld Xinis’ order but said the term “effectuate” was unclear and may exceed the court’s authority.
Republican President Donald Trump’s administration has acknowledged Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who was living in Maryland and has had a work permit since 2019, was deported by mistake. But it has said it cannot immediately bring him back and that diplomatic relations cannot operate at the speed with which the courts are demanding.
Asked on Friday if Trump would seek the return of Abrego Garcia on Monday when he meets Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the Supreme Court ruling made clear the administration’s responsibility was to “facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return, not to effectuate the return.”
‘BASED ON THE RECORD, YOU’VE DONE NOTHING’
The case highlights the administration’s tensions with federal courts. Several courts have blocked Trump’s policies and judges have expressed frustration with the administration’s delays in meeting court orders.
At Friday’s court hearing in Greenbelt, Maryland, Xinis repeatedly pressed Department of Justice lawyer Drew Ensign for answers about what the administration had done to get Abrego Garcia back. She said it was “extremely troubling” the government had not even told her where he is.
“The record, as it stands, is despite this court’s clear directive, your clients have done nothing to facilitate the return of Mr. Abrego Garcia,” the judge said. “You aren’t providing anything on the record about this, so based on the record, you’ve done nothing.”
Ensign said that the government would comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling but that her deadlines for providing her with information about his location and plans to return him were too tight.
“We simply believe that the court’s deadlines are impracticable, but that is not to say that the government is not intending to comply with the Supreme Court’s order,” Ensign said.
A small number of protesters gathered outside the court on Friday holding signs demanding Abrego Garcia’s return, and a sign on a pet dog read, “‘MUST’ MEANS MUST,” referring to the court’s order to return the Maryland man.
The Supreme Court said the Trump administration must take steps to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and detail the steps it has taken and will take to return him to the United States, but that Xinis should clarify her order “with due regard for deference” to the executive branch of government.
Abrego Garcia was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on March 12 and questioned about alleged gang affiliation. He was deported on March 15 on one of three high-profile deportation flights to El Salvador that also included alleged Venezuelan gang members, many of whom have no criminal records.
Democrats and civil rights groups argue the Trump administration is violating foreign nationals’ due process rights. They cite the deportations of Abrego Garcia and the Venezuelan migrants along with efforts to deport university students on valid visas who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.
The administration has said courts are overstepping their authority and unduly restricting the executive branch’s discretion, notably in foreign policy.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Greenbelt and Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Additional reporting by Nandita Bose; Writing by Luc Cohen; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Howard Goller)
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