The administration has filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
A federal judge in Maryland has ordered the Trump administration to return a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis’s order directed the federal government to “facilitate and effectuate the return of … Garcia to the United States no later than 11:59 p.m. on Monday, April 7, 2025.”
Xinis asked an attorney from the Department of Justice multiple questions during a hearing on April 4. DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni couldn’t tell the judge what authority the man—Kilmar Abrego Garcia—was arrested under.
Xinis said Abrego Garcia’s removal was an illegal act.
She said in a written order that Abrego Garcia, a native of El Salvador, was apprehended in Maryland without legal basis on March 12 “and, without further process or legal justification, was removed to El Salvador on March 15.” He’s been detained in the country’s Terrorism Confinement Center, she said.
The White House has said that Abrego Garcia, 29, is an MS-13 gang member and that U.S. courts lack jurisdiction over the matter because the Salvadoran national is no longer in the United States.
Abrego Garcia was removed on March 15 as part of a series of flights that have drawn another lawsuit the Trump administration is fighting in Washington.
In a hearing on April 3, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg questioned another DOJ attorney on his knowledge of the flights in an effort to determine whether they occurred in defiance of an order he issued on March 15. Boasberg prohibited the administration from removing individuals pursuant to a proclamation Trump issued stating that members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang were removable under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
His order did not prohibit the administration from removing individuals under other authorities.
During the April 3 hearing, Boasberg referenced Abrego Garcia, stating that he showed the administration had wrongfully removed at least one person as part of the deportations.
He also suggested the administration had attempted to rush people out of the country before he could issue an order preventing such moves.
DOJ attorney Drew Ensign said the government complied with Boasberg’s orders. That case has made its way to the Supreme Court where acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris is asking the justices to block Boasberg’s orders.
By Sam Dorman
