Federal Judge Slams Trump Administration Over Abrego Garcia Deportation Standoff

The Trump administration is under serious fire from a federal judge in Maryland for what she calls a "willful and bad faith refusal" to comply with court orders surrounding the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a suspected MS-13 gang member.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis pulled no punches, accusing officials of actively obstructing the legal process and failing to provide any meaningful details about their efforts—or lack thereof—to get Abrego Garcia back from El Salvador. In an eight-page order, she stated the administration's vague claims of privilege were being used as a shield to dodge compliance, and declared, "That ends now." She gave them until 6 p.m. Wednesday to put up or shut up with real details, or risk losing their privilege claims altogether.

The case centers on Abrego Garcia, 29, who was deported to El Salvador—according to the administration, by "administrative error." Since then, the U.S. government has told the courts that it's now El Salvador's problem, while the Salvadoran president says he can't do anything either. If passing the buck was an Olympic sport, this would be a gold-medal performance.

President Trump himself got involved, posting a photo on TRUTH Social showing Abrego Garcia's gang tattoos, questioning why the courts would want to bring him back to the U.S. Trump said, "He was supposed to be... a wonderful father from Maryland, but then they noticed he had 'MS-13' tattooed onto his knuckles (and lots of really bad stories about his past!)."

The Supreme Court had already ordered the administration nearly two weeks ago to do whatever it takes to bring Abrego Garcia back for court proceedings—flatly rejecting claims that it was impossible. Still, the administration has leaned on secrecy, citing attorney-client privilege, state secrets, and a grab bag of other protections to avoid sharing what they've actually done, if anything.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently scolded the administration, saying its insistence that nothing could be done was "shocking." Meanwhile, new documents from the Justice Department surfaced, including domestic violence allegations from Abrego Garcia's wife, Jennifer Vasquez, and a 2022 Homeland Security report suggesting he was involved in human and labor trafficking. The report details a traffic stop where Abrego Garcia was found with eight others in his car—no luggage, just people—but ended up only getting cited for driving with an expired license.

With every turn, this case seems to tie itself in tighter legal knots—whether it's privilege claims, international finger-pointing, or eyebrow-raising details about Abrego Garcia's past. The federal judge's patience, however, appears to be out of stock.