Posted on 04/11/2025 12:24:29 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday lambasted a government lawyer who couldn’t explain what, if anything, the Trump administration has done to arrange for the return of a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported last month to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
The U.S. government attorney also struggled to provide any information about the whereabouts of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, despite Thursday’s ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that the Trump administration must bring him back.
“Where is he and under whose authority?” U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis asked in a Maryland courtroom.
“I’m not asking for state secrets,” she said. “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 Trump administration logs some wins and losses on high profile immigration cases. AP correspondent Jennifer King reports.
Drew Ensign, a deputy assistant attorney general, said the government doesn’t have evidence to contradict the belief that Abrego Garcia is still in El Salvador.
Xinis sounded exasperated that Ensign couldn’t tell her where Abrego Garcia is, what the government has done to arrange for his return or what more it plans to do to get him back to the U.S.
“That is extremely troubling,” she said.
The judge repeatedly asked Ensign about what has been done to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return, asking pointedly: “Have they done anything?” — to which Ensign said he didn’t have personal knowledge of what had been done.
“So that means they’ve done nothing,” the judge said, adding later: “Despite this court’s clear directive, your clients have done nothing to facilitate the return of Mr. Abrego Garcia.”
For his part, Ensign stressed that the government was “actively considering what could be done” in the...
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
why would el salvador lock away a non gang member?
FO
Its troubling this judge is wasting time on this matter.
He’s NOT a “Maryland Man” he’s an illegal alien from El Salvador who has NO right to be here..if he wants due process fine..he can go to court in El Salvador and state his case..he’s NO longer our problem he had NO right to be here to begin with
APee Nooz never showed concern for wrongly incarcerated J6 protesters. NEVER ONCE!
She should hire herself a PI to find him, if she wants to know where he is. We don’t keep track of non-citizens in foreign countries.
Financial agreement with the US?
They came in under Biden with no details and no one said a word.
President Trump has very little influence or control over the President of El Salvador.
They both know that. That’s why President Trump will not discuss (and rightly so), because it will underscore weakness.
This guy entered in 2011 when he was 16.
I know I'm up nights about it. Just tossing and turning. Yep. Terrible, terrible. Golly.
More fake news propaganda.
They keep using the terms, “wrongfully” and “mistakingly “.
Wrong of course.
One creep out of millions is “troubling”?
Judge should be congratulating the Trump government for being extra careful.
So, under the “extremely troubling” laws, which one will apply?
“A law firm filed a habeas corpus petition with the Supreme Court of El Salvador on Monday, demanding the immediate release of 238 Venezuelans who were deported to the country and have been imprisoned at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) since March 15. The law firm, Bufete Grupo Ortega, claims to have been directly hired by the vice president of Venezuela to lead this legal battle.”
Should anybody be concerned about the guy, the proper way is to petition a court in El Salvador.
Where is goldbug?
Court filing made by the administration
battle.
“On March 15, although ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error’
According to Wikipedia, Abrego Garcia is a citizen of El Salvador.
“Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador and illegally entered the United States in 2011.”
“His request for asylum was denied, as one must submit an asylum application within a year of arriving in the U.S.”
“However, the judge granted him “withholding of removal” status that would block his deportation to El Salvador due to the threat that gangs would pose to him, finding that “he was more likely than not to be harmed if he was returned to El Salvador.’”
“An immigration judge in 2019 found that evidence Abrego was in MS-13 was sufficient enough to detain him, and another judge later upheld that ruling, saying the claim that Abrego was in MS-13 wasn’t clearly wrong, according to court documents”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_of_Kilmar_Abrego_Garcia
Things have changed for the better in El Salvador since 2019.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.