A side-by-side image of President Donald Trump and protesters holding signs in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadorian migrant who was deported to El Salvador in March, in what Trump officials acknowledged was an "administrative error." (Photos by Getty Images) (Getty Images )
Xinis ultimately adjourned court with a vow to work "as quickly" as possible to issue a ruling.
She set a deadline of Friday – one day after Christmas – for the Justice Department to submit additional information on its removal plans, including the deportation document and third country of removal.
She also ordered additional information from the plaintiffs, due by the end of the month.
Lawyers for Abrego reiterated on Monday that his preferred country of removal is Costa Rica, which had agreed to accept him in August.
Xinis noted that the government told her in court last month that Costa Rica had rescinded its offer to accept Abrego Garcia; a subsequent declaration submitted by a government official for the country clarified that it had not.
She used her earlier order to excoriate what she described as the government's "persistent refusal to acknowledge Costa Rica as a viable removal option, their threats to send Abrego Garcia to African countries that never agreed to take him, and their misrepresentation to the Court that Liberia is now the only country available to Abrego Garcia, all reflect that whatever purpose was behind his detention, it was not for the ‘basic purpose’ of timely third-country removal."
Xinis reiterated these concerns Monday.
ABREGO GARCIA LAWYERS ASK US JUDGE TO ORDER RETURN TO MARYLAND AMID ONGOING CRIMINAL CASE
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, his wife, and his lawyer are surrounded by reporters, advocates, and others as he appeared at the ICE Field Office in Baltimore in August. (Breanne Deppisch/Fox News Digital) (Breanne Deppisch/Fox News Digital)
Xinis used a separate memo opinion earlier this month to tick through, in extemporaneous detail, the court’s unsuccessful, five-month effort to obtain information from the Trump administration about ICE’s plans to deport Abrego Garcia to the four African countries it had identified for his removal – Uganda, Ghana, Eswatini, and Liberia.
At times on Monday, Xinis struggled to keep her incredulity at bay. "I'm again making a finding that these representations, which are misrepresentations – are in bad faith," Xinis told the government lawyers.
The hearing was fairly short, and notable if only for the fact that Abrego Garcia, newly released from ICE custody, attended in person.
He addressed a large crowd outside the courthouse after the hearing adjourned.
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Abrego Garcia's status has been at the center of a legal and political maelstrom since March, when he was deported to his home country of El Salvador, in violation of a 2019 court order and in what Trump officials acknowledge was an "administrative error."
Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI and other national news. She previously covered national politics at the Washington Examiner and The Washington Post, with additional bylines in Politico Magazine, the Colorado Gazette and others. You can send tips to Breanne at Breanne.Deppisch@fox.com, or follow her on X at @breanne_dep.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/judge-blocks-ice-from-re-detaining-abrego-garcia-signals-ruling-could-come-fast