The Trump administration is being accused of "deliberately stonewalling" in a case involving a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported without being afforded due process, according to The New York Times.
Judge Paula Xinis said, "top government officials in depositions have demonstrated, 'just a willful refusal to answer the question”' as to when they will "facilitate" Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return as ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court.
At Friday's hearing, Xinis said, "You have not given me anything that I can really say: ‘Ok, I understand what of the plaintiffs’ requests or the court’s order, in the government’s view, poses a reasonable danger to diplomatic relations.’"
She added that the information provided by the government so far had been “an exercise in utter frustration.”
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Abrego Garcia, who lives in the United States with his wife, a U.S. citizen, was accused of being a dangerous gang member and flown to the high-security CECOT prison in El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia's attorneys are trying to learn in court "what U.S. officials have done to get him back," but the Justice Department said in a court filing this week that Abrego Garcia's lawyers have “all the information they need” to show that they comply.
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) traveled to El Salvador in April to try to make contact with Abrego Garcia and check on his well being.
Abrego Garcia was arrested in 2019 "under the first Trump administration and accused of being a member of the MS-13 gang by a police informant — something he categorically denies.
"He was ultimately never convicted of any crime, gang-related or otherwise, after a year in Immigration and Customs Enforcement lockup. An immigration judge, while unsure he was innocent of gang activity, placed a protective order prohibiting his deportation to El Salvador, finding he would be in danger of gang violence."
Read The Guardian story here.
