Judge orders daily updates on status of Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador

Dan Belson, Baltimore Sun on Apr 11, 2025

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GREENBELT, Md. — A federal judge in Maryland chided the Trump administration for not being able to answer basic questions in court Friday about a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador and how officials are working, if at all, to bring him back.

A day after the Supreme Court upheld her order for the government to “facilitate” Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s return in a Thursday night ruling, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered for the government to provide daily updates on what efforts they have made to find out the whereabouts of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and their plans to return him.

Hours after the Supreme Court’s Thursday ruling, Xinis directed the government “take all available steps” to bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. “as soon as possible.” She convened Friday’s hearing in Greenbelt to get answers about the government’s progress so far.

She asked specifically about Abrego Garcia’s “current physical location and custodial status,” in addition to what steps, if any, the Trump administration has already taken to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return and what additional steps they will take.

A Justice Department attorney appearing before Xinis on Friday afternoon did not have that information.

“I’m asking a very simple question — where is he?” Xinis asked in court.

“I do not have that information,” Deputy Attorney General Drew C. Ensign said. He said the government was determining how to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling, calling Xinis’ deadline “impracticable” in a late-night court filing. In court, he said the answers to Xinis’ questions “may include assertions of privilege.”

In addition to the daily filings, Xinis said there would be an additional hearing in the near future.

“We’re not re-litigating what the Supreme Court has already put to bed,” she said. “If there is some reason you cannot comply, you will put that in writing.”

Abrego Garcia, of Prince George’s County, was mistakenly deported last month due to what the government has described as an “administrative error.” He is being held at El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, where the Trump administration has transferred hundreds of people facing deportation from the U.S. under a $6 million agreement with that nation’s government.

He did not receive a hearing after he was detained in mid-March by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and then deported. A judge had ordered, in 2019, that he could not be deported to El Salvador due to persecution he could face from gangs. His family sued in March, and Trump administration officials admitted in court that Abrego Garcia, 29, had mistakenly been deported.

But Justice Department officials maintained they could not be ordered to bring him back as he was in the custody of Salvadoran officials. They also claimed, citing scant evidence, that he was an MS-13 gang member, a claim his lawyers refute. Abrego Garcia has not been charged with a criminal offense in the United States or El Salvador.

Xinis’ order to “facilitate and effectuate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. this week was upheld by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court initially paused the deadline but on Thursday ruled, in a 9-0 decision, that the Trump administration’s removal of Abrego Garcia was illegal and that authorities must “facilitate” his return.

The nation’s highest court sent the case back to Xinis for further decisions, noting that the Trump administration “should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken” to facilitate his return,” and the prospect of further steps.” The term “effectuate” was unclear, the court ruled, adding that Xinis should clarify that directive “with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”

Throughout the legal back-and-forth, the Trump administration has not disclosed anything to suggest it was trying to bring Abrego Garcia back. Hours before the original deadline of 11:59 p.m. Eastern time Monday to return Abrego Garcia, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that he was a “ruthless criminal” who was “off our streets.”

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