Federal judge loses patience with Trump DOJ as Abrego Garcia deportation stalls again

A federal judge in Maryland on Monday blocked the Trump administration from delaying the deportation case of Salvadorian migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia because of the ongoing government shutdown. The judge ordered both parties to return to court Friday, this time with a government official prepared to testify under oath, about plans to deport him to the southern African nation of Eswatini.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued the order during a Monday status hearing focused on Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador in March in what Trump officials called an “administrative error.” He was returned to the U.S. in June and later indicted on unrelated criminal charges in Tennessee.

Xinis appeared to lose patience on several occasions with Trump administration lawyers after they repeatedly failed to answer the court’s questions about Abrego Garcia’s detention and plans to deport him to the third country of Eswatini.

“You come to court prepared,” she scolded lawyers for the Justice Department. “The government has the burden here, the way that I see it.”

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Xinis rejected the government’s notion that the ongoing shutdown played a role in its failure to provide information. 

She grew especially frustrated when Justice Department lawyers returned from a 30-minute recess — granted at their request — without any new information for the court.

“I’m finding it very hard to believe that there’s some magical information you’re going to get with another 30 minutes,” she said, adding: “It’s remarkable that you can’t find a soul who can give you any additional information in this case.”

“You’ve got to imagine I would ask some basic questions,” she told lawyers for the Justice Department. 

Xinis ended court by ordering both parties to return Friday morning for an evidentiary hearing. She pointedly noted the hearing will cover when the Trump administration reached out to Eswatini about its plans to send Abrego Garcia there and the time frame for his removal.

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Xinis also ordered the government to produce a witness with firsthand knowledge of Abrego Garcia’s case to testify under oath Friday about removal efforts, the case’s status and whether there is a “significant likelihood” he will be deported to Eswatini soon.

She warned the Justice Department that the witness must have firsthand knowledge of the case — unlike a previous witness who, she said, “knew nothing” and appeared “purposely” unprepared.

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers filed an emergency habeas request in August to keep him in the U.S. for now, ensuring he has access to due process protections, including the right to a reasonable-fear interview, before removal to a third country.

In rejecting the government’s request to delay the hearing Monday, Xinis noted that she was “duty bound” to consider the case, which she said involves fundamental questions that were not limited solely to Abrego Garcia’s habeas request.