Judge orders Trump administration testimony, documents over wrongly deported Maryland man
A U.S. district judge is demanding information from the Trump administration over the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
A U.S. district judge is demanding information from the Trump administration over the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
A U.S. district judge is demanding information from the Trump administration over the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
The legal battle over the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was wrongly deported to El Salvador, is escalating.
In a new Tuesday night, a U.S. district court judge demanded to hear from at least four Trump administration officials and to turn over information, deciding if they followed an order to "facilitate" the return of Abrego Garcia.
The judge accuses Trump officials of refusing to bring him back.
"I will not stop fighting until I see my husband alive," Jennifer Vasquez, Abrego Garcia's wife, said in a press conference Tuesday. "I find myself pleading with the Trump administration and the [El Salvador President Nayib] Bukele administration to stop playing political games with the life of Kilmar."
But the to return Abrego Garcia from El Salvador, claiming, without evidence, his ties to the MS-13 gang.
"This administration will obey court orders," White House Border Czar Tom Homan said. "But if you ask me if I'm in favor of returning terrorists in the United States that are gang members that have murdered or raped young women in this country, no, I'm not in favor of that at all."
A unanimous the administration must "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's return to some extent while giving people in similar situations due process to challenge their removal in court.
"He was not given that opportunity," Rina Gandhi, Abrego Garcia's attorney, said. "They decided that they were the judge for him, and they removed him without ever seeing a courtroom."
On Wednesday morning, said , requesting to meet with the country's president and visit Abrego Garcia in prison.
In a separate filing, the Abrego Garcia's return but would remove his asylum protection and deport him back to El Salvador.
In another ruling last week, that the Trump administration give deportees a chance to challenge their removal in court may have just gotten even more difficult.
On Tuesday, the Justice Department can temporarily stop funding legal education programs for people facing deportation.
Unlike criminal cases, people in immigration court or in detention centers do not have a right to an attorney if they cannot afford one themselves. Instead, a coalition of nonprofit groups provides legal advice and programs to help immigrants navigate the court system.
With the funding under threat, nonprofit groups are suing to stop the Justice Department and get the money back.
Congress allocates about $29 million a year for the programs.