Judge demands update on Kilmar Garcia as Trump admin slow walks return from El Salvador

The Supreme Court ruled that the administration must facilitate Abrego Garcia’s release.

UPDATED APR 13, 2025

The Justice Department admitted the deportation to El Salvador was an "administrative error" but defended his removal itself as lawful.

UPDATE: On Saturday the Trump administration provided a wellness report for Kilmar Abrego Garcia in its first daily update mandated by a court order.

“He is alive and secure in that facility. He is detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador,” Michael Kozack, a senior bureau official at the State Department, wrote in the filing.

Washington D.C.: A federal judge has demanded the Trump administration immediately detail efforts to return a Maryland resident deported to El Salvador. US District Judge Paula Xinis rejected the administration’s request for a delay, ordering a hearing Friday afternoon after Kilmar Abrego Garcia — a Salvadoran migrant with a valid US work permit — was detained and deported on March 15 over alleged gang ties.

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The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the administration must facilitate Abrego Garcia’s release from Salvadoran custody and outline steps for his return. Judge Xinis criticized the government’s delay request as ignoring reality, while Abrego Garcia’s lawyers accused officials of "obfuscating" as his safety hangs in the balance.

In a two-page filing, Justice Department lawyers told US district judge, Paula Xinis, that she had not given them enough time to work out what they planned to do about Garcia after the Supreme Court order.

The department lawyers wrote: "Defendants are unable to provide the information requested by the court on the impracticable deadline set by the court hours after the Supreme Court issued its order. In light of the insufficient amount of time afforded to review the Supreme Court order, defendants are not in a position where they ‘can’ share any information requested by the court. That is the reality."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called Garcia an "illegal criminal" and MS-13 leader.

The Justice Department admitted the deportation to El Salvador was an "administrative error" but defended his removal itself as lawful. Earlier the Trump administration placed a Justice Department attorney on leave for failing to aggressively defend its position in the case of Garcia.

Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed that Erez Reuveni, the DOJ lawyer who argued the government’s case, was placed on indefinite paid leave after admitting in court that Garcia’s deportation was an error. "Every DOJ attorney must zealously advocate for the United States," Bondi stated. "Failure to do so will result in consequences."