A federal judge in Maryland has slammed the Trump administration for its continued refusal to cooperate in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident wrongfully deported to El Salvador in what the government admits was an “administrative error.”
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis rejected a fresh request from the administration for more time to respond to discovery demands, ordering government officials to fully comply by Monday and setting strict new deadlines. She also cleared the way for depositions of four federal officials, to be completed by May 9.
The case has ignited national debate over due process, executive power, and the limits of judicial authority in immigration matters.
A Legal Tug of War
Abrego Garcia was deported in March despite a 2019 court order explicitly barring his removal to El Salvador due to fears of gang-related persecution. Since then, he has been held in Salvadoran prisons, including the notorious Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT), raising concerns about his safety and constitutional rights.
Judge Xinis has accused the administration of acting in “bad faith” repeatedly stonewalling court orders and hiding behind vague claims of privilege. “That ends now,” she wrote in a fiery ruling this week, rejecting what she described as a pattern of evasive behaviour.
The Trump administration’s most recent request for delay was filed under seal, leaving the public in the dark about its contents. But Xinis clarified her position, blasting the government for “boilerplate assertions” and a “willful refusal” to cooperate.
In a sharply worded order, she allowed the depositions of Robert Cerna, an ICE field director who initially called the deportation an “oversight,” and three other officials: Evan Katz (ICE), Michael Kozak (State Department), and Joseph Mazzara (DHS). She also opened the door to two additional depositions and provided the plaintiff’s file by May 7.
Xinis specifically took aim at the administration’s claim that it cannot act because Abrego Garcia is now in Salvadoran custody. She said the government had mischaracterised a Supreme Court order that directed it to “facilitate” his return, a directive that upholds her original ruling.
While acknowledging that some of the plaintiff’s questions were overly broad, she maintained that the government could not continue dodging accountability.
The case has drawn widespread attention, including from Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, who visited Abrego Garcia in El Salvador earlier this month and took to the Senate floor Wednesday to condemn the administration’s actions.
“I’m not vouching for Mr. Abrego Garcia,” Van Hollen said, “but I am vouching for his constitutional right to due process. If Donald Trump can ignore court orders and trample one man’s rights, he threatens all of ours.”
Van Hollen also revealed he had sent a letter to President Trump this week, urging compliance with the court and the return of Abrego Garcia.
Despite the growing criticism, administration officials remain defiant.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated bluntly: “He is an El Salvador citizen. He is home there. If he were brought back to the United States, we would deport him again immediately.”
President Trump echoed that sentiment during an ABC News interview this week. “He is not an innocent, wonderful gentleman from Maryland,” Trump said, repeating unproven allegations that Abrego Garcia is a member of the violent MS-13 gang, claims his attorneys and family vehemently deny.
Asked whether he would call on El Salvador to release Abrego Garcia, Trump said, “I haven’t spoken to him [the Salvadoran president]. I leave that to the lawyers.”
When pressed at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a pointed response: “I would never tell you that [whether I spoke to El Salvador], and you know who else I’d never tell? A judge. The conduct of our foreign policy belongs to the President… not some judge.”
As deadlines loom and tensions rise between the judiciary and the executive, the fate of Kilmar Abrego Garcia remains in limbo. With Judge Xinis holding firm and the Trump administration digging in, the case is shaping up to be a defining battle over constitutional rights in the immigration system.
Whether Abrego Garcia will return to the U.S., or remain behind bars in a foreign prison, now depends on what unfolds over the next two weeks.
For more updates on the case, follow New Daily Prime.
