The Department of Justice revealed Friday that it has no new information on the status of Kilmar Abrego Garcia—an American resident unlawfully deported under the Trump administration—but made clear it would not facilitate his return.
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Instead, DOJ attorneys told the court that if Abrego Garcia somehow manages to make it back to the United States, they will either detain and deport him to a third country or seek to “terminate” his removal order just to send him back to El Salvador, where he remains imprisoned inside the notoriously brutal CECOT megaprison.
This stance drew immediate and fiery criticism from U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who made clear the court would not tolerate further delays or evasions.
“Every day Abrego Garcia is in CECOT is a day of further irreparable harm,” Judge Xinis said, slamming the administration for offering no evidence it has taken any steps to comply with her prior order requiring his return.
Judge Xinis sided with attorneys for Abrego Garcia and ordered two weeks of intensive discovery—a fast-tracked process to determine exactly what the government has or hasn’t done. She said the plaintiffs may, if they choose, conduct depositions by April 23 with the four DHS, ICE, and State Department officials who have already submitted sworn statements to the court.
Xinis emphasized that this process will move fast—and no one should expect business as usual in her courtroom.
“Cancel vacations, cancel other appointments. I’m usually pretty good about that … Not this time,” she told the parties. “I will be flexible if you need to accommodate [depositions] in the courthouse. I’m going to be available if you need to do it at odd hours or weekends. That’s what I’m talking about.”
“We’re going to do this by the federal rules of civil procedure,” she added. “So no press release is going to move the court the same way that sworn, under-oath testimony from persons with knowledge will.”
In a stinging rebuke to the DOJ’s legal posturing, Xinis reminded government lawyers that the Supreme Court already ruled against them.
“You made your jurisdictional arguments, you made your venue arguments. You made your arguments on the merits. You lost,” she said. “This is now about the scope of the remedy.”
Xinis made clear that she is proceeding from what the Supreme Court has “unequivocally found to be lawful,” and warned that any further obstruction would be dealt with swiftly and under oath.
She also addressed El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s Oval Office comments, in which he made glib remarks about possibly “smuggling” Abrego Garcia back to the United States. Xinis dismissed the comments as not only legally irrelevant but deeply concerning.
“If that were in a court of law — it would have real infirmities,” she said. “It is not a direct response, nor is the quip about smuggling someone into the United States. If the government were facilitating his return, there would be no smuggling.”
The DOJ’s refusal to comply, paired with Trump administration comments that they may simply deport Abrego Garcia again if he returns, have raised alarm among constitutional scholars and civil rights attorneys. What began as a wrongful deportation case is now spiraling into a larger test of judicial authority.
“If not this court, then who, to engage in process?” Judge Xinis asked. “It’s process that is in the roots of our Constitution. So we have to give process to both sides. But we’re going to move. There will be no tolerance for gamesmanship or grandstanding.”
As discovery begins and depositions are scheduled, the court will scrutinize internal communications, potential coordination with foreign officials, and whether the Trump administration ever intended to comply with the lawful order. The stakes—both for Abrego Garcia and for the rule of law itself—could not be higher.
This is no longer a deportation case. It is a constitutional reckoning.
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