Trump admin invokes "state secrets" privilege in Ábrego García case

• The administration in March sought to use the same privilege in a case regarding its evasion of a judge's order to turn back deportation flights of alleged Venezuelan gang members.
• The state secrets privilege allows the government to withhold sensitive information from being disclosed in court when it believes doing so would harm national security or foreign relations.

Zoom in: U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis requested a briefing on the invocation of the privilege by May 12, court documents show.

• The administration's attempt to claim state secrets comes after Xinis last month ordered them to provide documents and answer questions to show what's being done to "facilitate" Ábrego García's release.

Context: The Trump administration has so far refused to comply with a Supreme Court order requiring it to facilitate Ábrego García's return from El Salvador.

• The government accused Ábrego García, a Salvadorian national legally living in Maryland, of being a member of MS-13, even though he has not been charged with any gang-related crimes.
• The administration claims they are in compliance with the Supreme Court's order, saying that they would simply have to help if El Salvador asks to send Ábrego García back.

Go deeper: Timeline: The case of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador