The Trump administration is doubling down on its decision not to inform a federal court about any plans to repatriate a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported last month and is currently confined in a notorious prison in El Salvador, despite a Supreme Court ruling and a lower court order requiring his return to the United States.
The U.S. district court judge handling the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia is now considering a request from the man’s legal team to compel the government to explain why it should not be held in contempt.
This potential move toward a contempt finding would signal an extraordinary challenge to the Trump administration’s assertion of presidential authority, especially regarding immigration policy.
The government’s latest daily status update, filed Sunday as mandated by Judge Paula Xinis, essentially states that the Trump administration has nothing to add beyond its Saturday statement which, for the first time, confirmed that Abrego Garcia, 29, is alive and remains in an El Salvador prison under the control of that country’s government.
This means that for the second consecutive day, the administration has not addressed Xinis’s demands that it provide details regarding the steps being taken to return Abrego Garcia to the United States.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last Thursday that the Trump administration must bring him back.
Judge Xinis followed that ruling with an order on Friday requiring the administration to disclose Abrego Garcia’s “current physical location and custodial status” and “what steps, if any, Defendants have taken (and) will take, and when, to facilitate” his return.
The Trump administration has asserted that Abrego Garcia, who lived in the country for approximately 14 years before being deported, is a member of the MS-13 gang.
Abrego Garcia has disputed this claim and has never been charged with any crime related to such activity.
The Trump administration has labeled his deportation as a mistake but also argues that its conclusion regarding Abrego Garcia’s alleged affiliation makes him ineligible for court protection.
Abrego Garcia’s location was confirmed to the court by Michael G. Kozak, who identified himself in the Saturday filing as a “Senior Bureau Official” in the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.
Sunday’s status update was signed by Evan C. Katz, who is identified in the filing as an assistant director of Enforcement and Removal Operations for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security.
Separately, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have petitioned Judge Xinis to issue an order compelling the government to explain why it should not be held in contempt for failing to fully comply with previous court orders.
As of early Sunday evening, Judge Xinis had not filed such an order.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have also requested Judge Xinis order the government to produce documents and contracts detailing the U.S. agreement with El Salvador to house deportees, or, if such records are unavailable, to require government officials to testify in court about the arrangement.
Judge Xinis expressed frustration on Friday during a hearing in her Maryland courtroom when a U.S. government attorney struggled to provide information about Abrego Garcia’s whereabouts.
“Where is he and under whose authority?” the judge asked during the hearing.
“I’m not asking for state secrets. All I know is that he’s not here.
The government was prohibited from sending him to El Salvador, and now I’m asking a very simple question: Where is he?”
The judge repeatedly pressed a government attorney about what actions had been taken to return Abrego Garcia, asking pointedly: “Have they done anything?”
Drew Ensign, a deputy assistant attorney general, informed Judge Xinis that he had no personal knowledge about any actions or plans regarding Abrego Garcia’s return.
However, he stated that the government was “actively considering what could be done” and emphasized that Abrego Garcia’s case involved three Cabinet agencies and required significant coordination.
Kozak’s statement issued the following day indicated, “It is my understanding based on official reporting from our Embassy in San Salvador that Abrego Garcia is currently being held in the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador.
He is alive and secure in that facility.
He is detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador.”
The Justice Department has not responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
During his time in the United States, Abrego Garcia worked in construction, got married, and was raising three children with disabilities, according to court records.
A U.S. immigration judge initially protected Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador, citing the likely persecution he would face there from local gangs that threatened his family.
Nonetheless, the Trump administration deported him to El Salvador last month, subsequently describing the incident as “an administrative error” but maintaining its claims about his supposed MS-13 affiliation.
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