Judge demands daily updates on return of wrongfully deported Maryland man
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Prison officers stand guard at the Center for the Compulsory Housing of Terrorism on April 4 in San Vicente, El Salvador. Photo: Alex Peña/Getty Images
A federal judge on Friday demanded the government provide daily updates in the case of a Maryland resident whom the Trump administration erroneously deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
The big picture: It comes a day after the Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration must take steps to return Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorian national who was wrongly swept up, DOJ lawyers previously admitted in a filing.
- The administration had fought a lower court order from U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis to return Abrego Garcia, arguing the judge's order imposed on the president's foreign policy powers.
Driving the news: A Justice Department lawyer, Drew Ensign, said during a hearing Friday that the government was "not yet prepared to share" information about Abrego Garcia, the New York Times reports.
- The judge responded, "I'm not asking for state secrets."
- Xinis said as part of daily updates, the government must share information on Abrego Garcia's location plus steps it has already taken to return him to the U.S. and steps it will be taking moving forward.
- "We are going to make a record of everything the government is doing and not doing," Xinis said.
Zoom in: The DOJ had said ahead of Friday's hearing that it was "impracticable" to meet a court-ordered deadline on how it plans to return Abrego Garcia, hours after the Supreme Court ruling.
- "The Court has not yet clarified what it means to 'facilitate' or 'effectuate' the return as it relates to this case, as Plaintiff is in the custody of a foreign sovereign," the DOJ said in a two-page court filing.
- The department said "foreign affairs cannot operate on judicial timelines."
- They wrote that they "are unable to provide the information requested by the court on the impracticable deadline set by the court hours after the Supreme Court issued its order."
Catch up quick: The government accused Abrego Garcia, who was legally living in Maryland, of being a member of MS-13, even though he has not been convicted of gang-related crimes.
- He was detained by immigration officials and mistakenly deported, despite a court order that he remain in the U.S. due to a likelihood of harm in El Salvador.
- He was wrongly told last month by immigration agents that his status had changed.
- Justice Department attorneys previously conceded that he was removed to El Salvador because of an "administrative error."
Go deeper: Supreme Court: Trump admin must "facilitate" return of deported Maryland man
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details.
