The judge wants to know if the White House is helping to return a wrongly deported man
The Case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia: A Test of the Second Law of the Constitution and the First Order of the Trump Administration
The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could use a law from the War of 1812 and the World Wars in order to deport migrants, but the court also ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego’s return.
During Bukele’s Oval Office visit on Monday, Trump and his team said it was up to the Salvadoran government to decide whether to return him. Bukele said he would not do that.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was part of the Oval Office meeting with Bukele, said the administration’s obligation only extended to providing a plane, but said that Abrego Garcia was now in Salvadoran custody.
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.
“All of this is a reminder why immigration is the tip of the spear for Trump’s larger assault on key pillars of our democracy and why what’s at stake should alarm Americans of all political persuasions,” she added.
A Maryland judge wants to know if government officials acted in bad faith in the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego, who was mistakenly sent to a notorious Salvadoran prison.
The judge said that a process of “expedited discovery” should take two weeks to see if the government is doing enough to bring him back.
Every day that he is held in CECOT is a day of harm, according to the record from the bench on Tuesday. “We have to give process to both sides but we are going to move. There is no tolerance for gamesmanship or making fun of others.
The investigation of the FBI’s case of Abrego Garcia: a re-examination of the case at the White House
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 time that the case of Abrego is up for discussion in court since President Trump met with him in the Oval Office on Monday.
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’s lawyers say that he doesn’t have a criminal record, despite being a member of the gang.
The DOJ also filed a transcript of Monday’s press conference in the Oval Office. Drew Ensign, a lawyer for the Justice Department, presented the transcript, arguing that the issue of Abrego Garcia was “raised at the highest level” and provided proof the government was trying to “facilitate” his return.
But Judge Xinis called references to the comments made at the White House “nonresponsive” in court about whether the administration is working to release Abrego Garcia from CECOT and ensure that his case is handled as it would have been in the U.S., were he not improperly sent abroad.
The record before me will be used to make a finding of contempt. I don’t take the transcript you gave me to be an answer to the question.
“We’re very confident that every action taken by this administration is within the confines of the law, and we continue to comply with the court’s orders,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday.
However, the Supreme Court also said the judge should clarify her decision “with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”
Several administration officials have argued that it’s up to the local government to make a decision about whether AbregoGarcia is returned.
“If they [El Salvador] wanted to return him, we would facilitate it – meaning provide a plane,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said during the Oval Office press conference.