A judge said Tuesday during a court hearing in Greenbelt, Maryland, that she will permit the family of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to seek evidence rapidly of steps the government has taken to return him from El Salvador, including by deposing four Trump administration officials.
Xinis said she planned to operate on a “tight timeline” that involved holding depositions with people who have shown they have “personal knowledge of the issues before the court” by April 23, including State and Homeland Security department officials.
The judge said the move to obtain discovery was necessary after not receiving any information from the Trump administration about action it has taken in response to the Supreme Court ordering the government last week to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return. The administration mistakenly deported him to a Salvadoran prison on March 15.
“I do find it well within my authority to proceed with expedited discovery, specifically to determine whether you are abiding by my court orders … and if not, is it in bad faith? Is it in good faith? Do you have legitimate objections?” Xinis said.
The judge and Department of Justice attorney Drew Ensign sparred over the meaning of the word “facilitate” after DOJ attorneys submitted a string of documents to the court saying they believed it meant they simply had to accept Abrego Garcia back into the country if Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele decided to return him. Xinis said she disagreed with that interpretation.
“It flies in the face of the plain meaning of the word,” the judge said.
The judge said her “current thinking” was that Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national whom the Trump administration alleges is an MS-13 gang member, “has already won his injunctive relief.”
“We’re here today to talk about the scope of the remedy,” Xinis said, adding that every day that he remains detained in the notorious prison known as CECOT without having received due process “is a day of further irreparable harm.”
Ensign hinted that he may raise privilege objections to some of the depositions, including for Department of Homeland Security general counsel Joseph Mazzara.
Xinis shot back that the four officials she has identified, who also include Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials Robert Cerna and Evan Katz, did not raise any privilege concerns when they submitted prior declarations to the court.
The case has become a fast-moving and tense battle over Abrego Garcia after the Trump administration said his deportation to El Salvador was both irreversible, since it has no control over the Salvadoran government, and trivial, since he was an alleged gang member.
Abrego Garcia entered the country illegally around 2012 and has been residing in Maryland working in construction with his U.S. citizen wife and three children, according to his lawyer. He has never been charged or convicted of any crimes and denies gang affiliation. However, an immigration judge in 2019 found that Abrego Garcia was affiliated with the MS-13 gang based on evidence provided by the Department of Homeland Security, which largely involved information from a confidential informant, and that judge’s finding was later upheld on administrative appeal.
His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, and dozens of protesters appeared outside the federal courthouse entrance on Tuesday holding signs and chanting, “Bring home Kilmar now!”
SUPREME COURT ORDERS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO RETURN MISTAKENLY DEPORTED MAN FROM EL SALVADOR
Several Trump administration officials have begun warning in the last couple days in court and in media appearances that even if Abrego Garcia were to return to the United States, they would enter him into the normal deportation process, which could involve seeking authorization from an immigration judge to send him to a different country.
A separate immigration judge in 2019 barred the government from deporting Abrego Garcia to El Salvador because the judge found he could face gang persecution there but did not put restrictions on deporting him to other countries. Abrego Garcia’s legal team has signaled it plans to use every legal avenue available to challenge his removal.