A federal court has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador, where he remains imprisoned after being deported in what officials now concede was an “administrative error.”
The case has sparked a diplomatic standoff between the U.S. and El Salvador, with U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis demanding swift action while Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele calls the request to return Garcia “preposterous.” The Maryland resident was deported despite having a court order that should have protected him from removal, according to Department of Justice admissions.
During a recent hearing, Judge Xinis emphasized the binding nature of legal decisions in this case. “The Supreme Court has spoken,” she told parties during proceedings in Maryland, according to local reports.
The judge has ordered expedited discovery amid growing concerns over the administration’s apparent reluctance to comply with her directives.
“We have to give process to both sides, but we’re going to move… there will be no tolerance for gamesmanship or grandstanding,” Judge Xinis stated firmly at the start of a hearing, as reported by CBS News.
Complicating matters, President Bukele has flatly rejected the idea of returning Abrego Garcia to the United States.
“How can I return him to the United States? I smuggle him into the United States or what do I do? Of course I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous,” Bukele said in statements to ABC News.
The case stems from what the Justice Department has described as an “administrative error” that led to Abrego Garcia’s deportation despite court protections, according to Axios reporting.
As the diplomatic impasse continues, Judge Xinis’s order for expedited discovery signals that the court is losing patience with delays in resolving what began as a bureaucratic mistake but has evolved into an international incident.