A Maryland judge on Wednesday refused to grant the Trump administration another extension to provide information on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to a Salvadoran prison in what the government described as a “administrative error.”
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who ordered the government to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return, has clashed with the Trump administration for weeks. She ordered expedited discovery on any steps taken by the administration to bring Abrego Garcia back, accusing it of a “bad faith refusal” to answer questions last week.
Xinis delayed the discovery process by seven days last week. However, she denied the Trump administration’s request for another delay on Wednesday, instead issuing a new order directing the administration to “answer and respond to all outstanding discovery requests” by Monday. She also established a new set of deadlines for the next two weeks.
The reasons for the government’s request for delays, as well as Xinis’ reasons for denying them, are unknown because the administration’s motion was sealed from public view.
What’s next in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
Xinis will allow the depositions of four government officials, Robert Cema, Evan Katz, Michael Kozak, and Joseph Mazzara, “no later than Friday, May 9.”
Cerna, a field office director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, previously swore that Abrego Garcia’s deportation to El Salvador was a “administrative error…this was an oversight.” In 2019, a judge barred Abrego Garcia from being sent to El Salvador, citing concerns that he would be targeted by gangs there.
The other three staff members also filed court documents in Abrego Garcia’s case. Katz was an ICE official, Kozak worked for the State Department, and Mazzara was the Department of Homeland Security’s deputy general counsel.
Xinis said: “By no later than Wednesday, May 7, plaintiffs may move for leave of court to conduct two additional depositions of individuals with knowledge and authority to testify regarding the matters.”
Judge Xinis criticizes government
Prior to granting a stay last week in the discovery process, Xinis largely rejected the Trump administration’s claims that it had adequately answered questions from Abrego Garcia’s legal team, stating that the government demonstrated a “willful and bad faith refusal to comply with discovery obligations.”
Xinis has questioned the government’s position that it cannot take action to return Abrego Garcia because he is in the custody of El Salvador. She also accused the government of mischaracterizing a Supreme Court order requiring it to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return, largely upholding an order issued by Xinis.
The judge had harsh words for the government’s claim that it cannot reveal certain information because it is privileged.
She wrote, “For weeks, Defendants have sought refuge behind vague and unsubstantiated assertions of privilege, using them as a shield to obstruct discovery and avoid compliance with this Court’s orders. Defendants have been aware, at least since last week, that this Court requires specific legal and factual evidence to support any claim of privilege. However, they have continued to rely on boilerplate assertions. That’s it for now.
Xinis also requested that Abergo Garcia’s attorneys limit the scope of some of their questions, writing, “The request for ‘the identity and role of every U.S. official or employee with knowledge of the facts alleged in the complaint,’ as well as those involved in any submission to this Court, the Fourth Circuit, or the Supreme Court, is too broad to extract a meaningful and timely response.”
Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s deportation
ICE agents arrested Abrego Garcia in Prince George’s County while he was driving with his child. He was near his home after leaving his job as a sheet metal apprentice in Baltimore on March 12th.
He was then transported to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, mega-prison, as part of the Trump administration’s broader strategy of sending migrants accused of gang membership to CECOT. Abrego Garcia was later transferred to another Salvadoran prison.
Since then, the government has acknowledged that Abrego Garcia’s removal was an error due to the 2019 order prohibiting him from being sent to El Salvador. However, the Trump administration has not brought him back and has accused him of belonging to the MS-13 gang, which his lawyers deny.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen continues to call for Abrego Garcia’s return
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland drew international attention earlier this month when he paid a visit to Abrego Garcia in El Salvador.
He discussed the case on the Senate floor Wednesday.
“Members can look the other way and cannot deny the fact that this is happening as we speak today, and I would urge every senator to recognize the threat to everybody’s rights under the Constitution,” Van Hollen told the crowd.
He also read the letter he sent to President Donald Trump this week.
“I am not vouching for Mr. Abrego Garcia, but I am vouching for his constitutional right to due process, because if Donald Trump can ignore court orders and trample over the rights of one man, he threatens the rights of everyone who lives in the United State of America,” Van Hollen told the senators he represented.
Trump, Cabinet defend actions in Abrego Garcia case
The Trump administration has rejected calls for Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated, “This is the president’s and the White House’s decision, so we will follow his direction and his legal scholars and attorneys.” [Abrego Garcia] is beyond our control. He is an El Salvadoran citizen. He is at home in his country. If he were brought back to the United States of America, we would deport him right away.”
This week, President Trump stated to ABC News that Abrego Garcia “is not an innocent, wonderful gentleman from Maryland.”
He raised allegations that Abrego Garcia is a member of the violent MS-13 gang, which his lawyers and family deny, noting that he has not been charged with a crime.
Mr. Trump told ABC News that he has the authority to order El Salvador to return Abrego Garcia to the United States, “and if he were the gentleman that you say he is, I would, but he’s not.”
The president also stated, “I’m not the one making this decision.”
At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, a reporter asked Mr. Trump if El Salvador’s president would reject a request to let Abrego Garcia leave.
“I don’t know,” the president replied. “I haven’t spoken with him. “I’ll leave that to the lawyers.”
During the same meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked if he had direct talks with Salvadoran officials about the Abrego Garcia case.
“I would never tell you that, and do you know who I would never tell? “A judge,” Rubio explained. “Because the conduct of our foreign policy belongs to the President of the United States and the executive branch – not some judge.”
Who is Judge Xinis?
Former President Barack Obama nominated Xinis to the United States District Court for Maryland in 2015. She was confirmed in 2016 and works at the courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The Yale Law graduate has a strong connection to Baltimore. She worked as a federal public defender before joining Murphy, Falcon & Murphy in 2011. She became a partner in 2013.
Billy Murphy, the firm’s founding partner, has handled numerous high-profile cases, including representing the family of Freddie Gray, who died while in the custody of Baltimore police a decade ago.
Her official biography stated that while at Murphy’s firm, Xinis “handled complex civil actions as well as mass and class actions in state and federal court.”