GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge in Maryland scolded the Trump administration on Friday for its “utter refusal” to detail its deportation plans for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, including where the government plans to send him and whether he’ll get a chance to fight his expulsion before he’s whisked away.
The Salvadoran national could be released from a Tennessee jail as soon as next Wednesday to await trial on human smuggling charges. U.S. immigration officials have said they would immediately detain him and begin deportation proceedings.
“I’m deeply concerned that if there’s not some restraint on you, Mr. Abrego will be on another plane to another country,” U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis told Justice Department lawyers on Friday.
Abrego Garcia became a flashpoint over Republican President Donald Trump’s immigration policies when he was wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador in March. That expulsion violated a U.S. immigration judge’s order in 2019 that shields Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faces threats of gang violence there.
The administration claimed that Abrego Garcia was in the MS-13 gang, although he wasn’t charged and has repeatedly denied the allegation. Facing mounting pressure and a U.S. Supreme Court order, the Trump administration returned Abrego Garcia to the U.S. last month to face the smuggling charges, which his attorneys have called “preposterous.”
The administration argues now that Abrego Garcia is a danger to the community and can be deported before his trial to a country other than El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have asked Xinis to order the government to send him to Maryland if he’s released in Tennessee, a request that aims to prevent his expulsion before trial.
In court on Friday, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys asked for at least a 72-hour hold that would prevent immediate deportation. Attorney Andrew Rossman called it the “critical bottom-line protection” needed to prevent a potentially egregious violation of due process rights.
Xinis didn’t rule from the bench Friday, but said she’ll issue an order before a federal judge in Tennessee holds a hearing on Wednesday to discuss Abrego Garcia’s release.
The smuggling case stems from a 2022 traffic stop for speeding, during Abrego Garcia was driving a vehicle with nine passengers without any luggage. Police in Tennessee suspected human smuggling, but he was allowed to drive on.
Abrego Garcia lived and worked in Maryland for more than a decade, working construction and raising a family. His American wife is suing the administration over his wrongful deportation in Xinis’s court in Maryland.
Given the history of the case, Xinis raised concerns on Friday that the government will take action without properly informing Abrego Garcia and his attorneys until it’s too late.
“The point is the utter refusal of your clients to engage in any conversation about what’s going to happen on Wednesday despite the extraordinary facts of this case,” Xinis told Justice Department attorneys.
Thomas Giles, an assistant director for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, testified previously that Mexico or South Sudan may be willing to accept Abrego Garcia. But he said the Trump administration hasn’t decided on anything yet.
Xinis on Friday criticized Giles’ testimony, describing it as garden variety information that lacked specifics. She also expressed concern that Abrego Garcia could be deported to a nation that would just send him back to his native country.
Sarmad Khojasteh, a Justice Department attorney, declined to discuss in detail what could happen. But he said one possibility is the initiation of deportation proceedings to a third country. Another is revisiting the immigration judge’s 2019 order that shielded Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador.
When Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported, he was first held in a notorious megaprison. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers recently alleged in court documents that he was beaten and subjected to psychological torture. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele denied the allegations.
Regarding deportation to a “third country,” Khojasteh told the judge that people are first told what country they’re being sent to, then allowed to express fear of going there. If the fear is deemed credible, the person gets a hearing before an immigration judge.
Khojasteh declined to discuss what happens after that, calling the line of questioning “like six layers deep in speculation.”
“These things haven’t happened yet,” he said. “The controversy’s not ripe.”
He said Abrego Garcia would be treated like any other immigrant under the circumstances.
But Xinis sharply rejected that notion. She said the case has already received so much attention that she can’t imagine it will be subject to a routine decision-making process among immigration officials.
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