Kilmar Abrego Garcia in the El Salvadoran megaprison "Terrorism Confinement Center" (CECOT).
The administration was also seeking relief from having to file daily updates, but Xinis' stay did not make any changes to that requirement.
The Wednesday evening order came just one day after Xinis blasted the administration’s lawyers in a written filing for ignoring her orders in refusing to provide the daily status updates on the case, saying that they had been acting in "bad faith" by obstructing the legal process.
"That ends now," said Xinis, who was nominated to the bench by former President Barack Obama.
"For weeks, defendants have sought refuge behind vague and unsubstantiated assertions of privilege, using them as a shield to obstruct discovery and evade compliance with this Court's orders," Xinis wrote in an eight-page order. "Defendants have known, at least since last week, that this court requires specific legal and factual showings to support any claim of privilege. Yet they have continued to rely on boilerplate assertions."
This still from video from July 22, 2015, shows Paula Xinis testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (US Senate Judiciary Committee)
Trump displayed a picture of Abrego Garcia’s hand last week, showing what the president said were gang tattoos. Abrego Garcia was also pulled over on Dec. 1, 2022, by a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper and was suspected of participating in human smuggling as he had eight individuals in the SUV with no luggage. Abrego Garcia has never been charged with a crime.
Abrego Garcia, whose attorneys deny that he is a member of the gang, was deported to the El Salvadoran megaprison "Terrorism Confinement Center" (CECOT) last month, and officials acknowledged in court his deportation was an administrative error. However, now some top Trump officials say he was correctly removed and contend he's a member of the notorious MS-13 gang.
He had been living in Maryland with his wife and children.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia meets with Sen. Van Hollen. (X / @ChrisVanHollen)
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said last week that when Trump declared the violent gang a terrorist organization, Abrego Garcia was no longer eligible for any form of immigration relief in the United States.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Abrego Garcia would not be allowed back into the U.S. unless El Salvador were to decide otherwise. "He is not coming back to our country."
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The case has made national headlines and drawn a wedge between Democrats and Republicans.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen's, D-Md., flew to El Salvador last week to meet with Abrego Garcia in an attempt to spur his return to the U.S. Van Hollen’s trip, which he said was paid for by the taxpayers, was followed by another group of Democratic lawmakers traveling to the Central American nation to advocate for his return. That party included Reps. Robert Garcia of California, Maxwell Frost of Florida, Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, and Maxine Dexter of Oregon.
Fox News’ Greg Wehner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-judge-gives-doj-another-week-abrego-garcia-deportation-case