A federal judge calls President Donald Trump’s administration “very troublesome” because he failed to comply with a court order to provide details on the status of Maryland residents who were illegally deported to El Salvador.
During a tense hearing Friday, US District Judge Paula Sinis requested that the administration locate Kilmer Abrego Garcia, who was sent to El Salvador on March 15.
She also needed daily updates on the administration’s efforts to ensure his return.
Salvador immigrant Abrego Garcia has been living in Maryland since 2019 under a court order to protect him from deportation. He has been in the US since 2011 after saying he had fled the gangster chasing him for recruitment in his home country.
His wife and children are American citizens. However, on March 12, he was stopped and taken into custody by US immigrants and customs enforcement officers who questioned him about allegedly affiliation with the gang.
He was deported on March 15th on three famous deportation flights to El Salvador, which also includes alleged Venezuelan gang members, in violation of a 2019 court order.
Abrego Garcia’s family sued to challenge the legality of his deportation, and on April 4, Sinis ordered the administration to “promote and influence” his return. The Trump administration challenged the order in the Supreme Court, which upheld Sinis’ order, but said the term “effective” was unknown and could exceed the court’s powers.
The Supreme Court also ordered the Trump administration to take steps to promote Abrego Garcia’s release from El Salvador’s custody, detailing the steps to return him to the United States.
Sinis repeatedly asked his government lawyers on Friday for answers on what he did to get Abrego Garcia back.
“Where is he and whose authority is he?” Xinis asked.
“I’m not seeking state secrets,” she added. “All I know is that he is not here. The government was forbidden from sending him to El Salvador. And now I have a very simple question: Where is he?”
“I don’t know what to take from the fact that the Supreme Court is speaking very clearly, but even so, I can’t get an answer today as to what you’ve done in the past.”
“Man’s life and safety are at risk.”
Drew Ensign, a U.S. Department of Justice lawyer, said the government would comply with the Supreme Court decision. He repeated what the administration said in its court application. After evaluating the Supreme Court’s decision, they will provide the necessary information by the end of next Tuesday.
“We simply believe that court deadlines are ineffective, but that doesn’t mean that the government is not going to comply with the Supreme Court order,” Ensign said.
Sinis ordered a small sign to provide daily updates even when the government says it intends to comply with the Supreme Court order, but the administration believes her deadlines are unrealistic.
The Supreme Court’s ruling also said lower courts should clarify the order “in honor” to the government’s administrative department.
The administration said it was “irrational and infeasible” to file in court early Friday to say what the next step is before it is properly agreed and reviewed.
“Diplomacy cannot operate on a judicial schedule, in part because it involves sensitive country-specific considerations that are completely inappropriate for judicial review,” the government’s submission said.
But Abrego Garcia’s lawyers questioned the motivation for the delay in the Trump administration.
In their own submission on Friday, they argued that “the government continues to delay and obfuscate court orders while human life and safety are at risk.”
Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sula, said the ordeal was a “emotional roller coaster” for the family and the community as a whole.
“I’m waiting with concern for Kilmer to be inside my house and at home. Knowing that this nightmare is almost over, I put our kids to bed. I’ll continue to fight until my husband is home,” she said.
The case highlights administration tensions with federal courts. Some have blocked Trump’s policies, and judges have expressed dissatisfaction with the administration’s efforts to avoid complying with court orders.
In the case of Abrego Garcia, the Trump administration has asserted that his deportation was justified.
In a Supreme Court filing on April 7, the Justice Department said Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador through “administrative errors,” but his actual removal from the US was “not an error.”
The error, written by the department’s lawyer, was to take him to El Salvador, in particular, despite the deportation protection order.
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