Judge criticizes Trump administrator for “rejecting malicious intentions” in Abrego Garcia’s deportation case
A federal judge in Maryland has accused the Trump administration of complying with court orders in cases of illegal immigration and suspected “willful and malicious refusal.” MS-13 Gang Members Kilmer Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador.
US District Judge Paula Sinis – Bench nominated by former president Barack Obama – accusing the Trump administration of thwarting the legal process and refusing to provide information about the measures taken to free Salvador from custody and bring him back to the United States.
“For several weeks, the defendants have been seeking evacuation behind ambiguous and unfounded claims of privilege, and will use them as shields to interfere with discovery and avoid compliance with this court order,” Xinis wrote on Tuesday in an eight-page order. “The defendants know that since at least last week, this court has been demanding certain legal and de facto shows to support their claims of privilege, but they continue to rely on boilerplate claims.
Four more Dems travel to El Salvador and seek Abrego Garcia’s return to us

This undated photo provided by Murray Osorio PLLC shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Murray Osorio PLLC via AP)
“If the accused want to maintain their claims of privilege, they must support them with the necessary details, or they will lose protections they did not properly invoke,” the judge added.
She gave government until 6pm on Wednesday to provide these details.
President Donald Trump posted a true social photo of himself on Tuesday in an oval office holding a photograph of a gangster affiliated with Abrego Garcia’s Knuckles etched.
“Is this Kilmer Abrego Garcia, the guy who says he’s trying to keep the courts out of deportation?” Trump wrote. “According to the judges and Democrats, he was supposed to be a great father in Maryland, but they found out he had tattooed ‘MS-13’ on his knuckles (and many stories of really bad stories about his past!).
The Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia, 29, to El Salvador, as explained in a court application. “Management error”, Since then, he has said it’s up to El Salvador to see whether Abrego Garcia returns to the US.

President Donald Trump has a photo of Abrego Garcia’s Knuckles tattoo, which the White House says is partnering with the MS-13 terrorist group. (Donald Trump Truth Social)
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to promote Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States almost two weeks ago, rejecting the allegation that the White House could not reclaim him so that the court’s lawsuit could continue.
President El Salvador has said that President El Salvador has no power to return Abrego Garcia, but Trump administration officials pushed him back, claiming it belongs to El Salvador. The administration also argues that information about measures taken or can take to return Abrego Garcia is protected by the Attorney and Client Privileges Act, the state secret laws, general “government privileges” or other secret rules.
However, Xinis said these claims reflect “willingly and malicious refusal to comply with the obligation to discovery” without the facts that back them up.

Senator Chris Van Hollen will speak at a press conference after Jennifer, Kilmer Abrego Garcia’s wife returned from El Salvador at Dulles International Airport, Virginia on April 18, 2025. (Pete Key Heart of the Washington Post via Getty Images)
A three-judicial panel of judges at the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said last week they scolded the administration and argued that they could not do anything to free Abrego Garcia.
Ministry of Justice Last week, Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez, published a document detailing allegations of domestic violence included in a court filing in 2021. Additionally, the 2022 Homeland Security Investigation Report, obtained by Fox News, alleges that Abrego Garcia is suspected of participating in labor and human trafficking. The report said Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers attracted Abrego Garcia after a turn in 2022. Patrol officers found eight individuals in the car along with Abrego Garcia, who had just started driving three days ago.
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Officers originally believed the incident was eligible for a trafficking case as no package was found inside the car, but officers eventually wrote down Abrego Garcia to drive with an expired license.
Paul Steinhauser, Diana Stancy, David Spant, Rachel Wolf, Greg Norman and the Associated Press of Fox News contributed to the report.