Federal Judge Alleges 'willful And Bad Faith Refusal' To Comply In Abrego Garcia Deportation Case

A national judge successful Maryland accused nan Trump management of "willful and bad religion refusal" to comply pinch tribunal orders successful nan lawsuit of forbidden migrant and suspected MS-13 pack member Kilmar Abrego Garcia's deportation to El Salvador.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis – who was nominated to nan chair by erstwhile President Barack Obama – accused nan Trump management of obstructing nan ineligible process and refusing to supply accusation astir nan steps they person taken, if any, to free Abrego Garcia from Salvadorian custody and return him to nan United States. 

"For weeks, Defendants person sought refuge down vague and unsubstantiated assertions of privilege, utilizing them arsenic a shield to obstruct find and evade compliance pinch this Court’s orders," Xinis wrote successful an eight-page bid Tuesday. "Defendants person known, astatine slightest since past week, that this Court requires circumstantial ineligible and actual showings to support immoderate declare of privilege. Yet they person continued to trust connected boilerplate assertions. That ends now."

4 MORE DEMS TRAVEL TO EL SALVADOR TO PUSH FOR ABREGO GARCIA'S RETURN TO US

This undated photograph provided by Murray Osorio PLLC shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia.  (Murray Osorio PLLC via AP)

"If Defendants want to sphere their privilege claims, they must support them pinch nan required detail. Otherwise, they will suffer nan protections they grounded to decently invoke," nan judge added. 

She gave nan management until 6 p.m. Wednesday to supply those details.

President Donald Trump connected Tuesday posted a photograph to TRUTH Social of himself successful nan Oval Office holding up a photograph of nan gang-affiliated tattoos etched connected Abrego Garcia's knuckles. 

"This is nan man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, that nan Courts are trying to prevention from being deported?" Trump wrote. "He was expected to be, according to nan Judge and nan Democrats, a awesome begetter from Maryland, but past they noticed he had "MS-13" tattooed onto his knuckles (and tons of really bad stories astir his past!). This is nan pack that is, perhaps, nan worst of them all. What is incorrect pinch our Country?" 

The Trump management deported Abrego Garcia, 29, to El Salvador successful what it described successful tribunal filings arsenic an "administrative error," and has since said that it is up to El Salvador whether Abrego Garcia returns to nan U.S. 

President Donald Trump holding a photograph of nan tattoos connected Abrego Garcia's knuckles that nan White House says are affiliated pinch nan MS-13 violent group. (Donald Trump TRUTH Social)

DEPORTED ILLEGAL ALIEN AND SUSPECTED MS-13 GANG MEMBER TRANSFERRED FROM NOTORIOUS EL SALVADORAN MEGA-PRISON

The U.S. Supreme Court ordered nan Trump management astir 2 weeks agone to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return to nan U.S., truthful that tribunal proceedings could continue, rejecting nan White House’s declare that it couldn’t retrieve him. 

Trump management officials person pushed back, arguing that it is up to El Salvador — though nan president of El Salvador has besides said he lacks nan powerfulness to return Abrego Garcia. The management has besides based on that accusation astir immoderate steps it has taken aliases could return to return Abrego Garcia is protected by attorney-client privilege laws, authorities concealed laws, wide "government privilege" aliases different secrecy rules.

But Xinis said those claims, without immoderate facts to backmost them up, reflected a "willful and bad religion refusal to comply pinch find obligations."

Jennifer, Kilmar Abrego Garcia's wife, cries arsenic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., speaks during a property convention aft returning from El Salvador connected April 18, 2025, astatine Dulles International Airport successful Dulles, Virginia. (Pete Kiehart for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

A three-judge sheet connected nan 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals scolded nan management past week, saying its declare that it can't do thing to free Abrego Garcia "should beryllium shocking." 

The Justice Department unveiled documents past week detailing home unit allegations that Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez, included successful a tribunal filing successful 2021. Vasquez alleged successful nan filing that Abrego Garcia hit her and that she had archiving of nan bruises he near connected her. Additionally, a 2022 Homeland Security Investigations study obtained by Fox News claims that Abrego Garcia was suspected of partaking successful labour and quality trafficking. The study said a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper pulled Abrego Garcia complete successful 2022 aft swerving. The patrol serviceman recovered 8 different individuals successful nan car pinch Abrego Garcia, who had conscionable begun driving 3 days prior. 

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The serviceman primitively believed nan incident qualified arsenic a quality trafficking lawsuit because nary luggage was recovered successful nan car, but nan serviceman yet only wrote up Abrego Garcia for driving pinch an expired license. 

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser, Diana Stancy, David Spunt, Rachel Wolf, Greg Norman and nan Associated Press contributed to this report.