A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the United States after he was accidentally sent to a notorious megajail in El Salvador.
U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, Judge Paula Xinis ruled that the government must return Garcia by April 7 at 11:59 pm.
Garcia, a protected legal resident who has been living in Maryland since 2011 and is originally from El Salvador, was sent back to El Salvador on March 15 because of what the Trump administration called an “administrative error” in court filings Monday.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin repeated the Trump administration's claims that Garcia is an MS-13 gang member in a statement after the ruling.
"Whether he is in El Salvador or a detention facility in the U.S., he will be locked up and off America’s streets," she said.
At the hearing on Friday, Garcia’s attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, shot down previous claims by the Trump administration that his client is a MS-13 member.
Garcia filed a lawsuit last week asking that the judge order the government to return him to the United States. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem countered the lawsuit on Monday, arguing that U.S. courts do not have the authority to seek Garcia’s extradition.
At a hearing for the case earlier in the day, a Department of Justice lawyer representing the Trump administration appeared to side with Garcia.
“I will say for the court’s awareness that when this case landed on my desk, the first thing I did was ask my client the same question,” the lawyer, Erez Reuveni, said. “I have not yet received an answer that I find satisfactory.”
Reuveni conceded that Garcia “should not have been removed" and told U.S. Judge Paula Xinis he did not know why Garcia was ever arrested.
“You’re not going to like my answer to a lot of this," Reuveni said. "I am also frustrated that I also have no answers for you on a lot of these questions.”
“The absence of evidence speaks for itself," he later added.
Reuveni asked Judge Xinis to give the government "one more chance to do this without court superintendence."
"Give us 24 hours to get him back, Reuveni said. "That was my recommendation to my client but that hasn't happened"
Sandoval-Moshenberg replied: “If Mr. Abrego Garcia can be produced in this court on Monday, we are happy to accept that. Given the manner they’ve chosen to litigate this case, it doesn’t appear they’re taking it seriously.”
Judge Xinis then called the court into a brief recess. When the hearing restarted, the judge ultimately decided that the government's time had run out.
"This case is certainly important to Mr. Abrego Garcia and his family," he said. "I can't wait on giving my order. I will write a formal opinion."
In recent days, Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have repeatedly accused Garcia of being a member of the gang MS-13.
Sandoval-Moshenberg has denied the government's claims that he is affiliated with the gang. Instead, Garcia came to the U.S. from El Salvador in 2011 to flee gang violence, Sandoval-Moshenberg said, adding that gang members threatened to kill him in an attempt to extort his parents. His attorney also noted that Garcia does not have a criminal record in the U.S. or El Salvador.
"First of all, if they thought he committed a crime, they could arrest him and try to convict him of that crime," Sandoval-Moshenberg told MSNBC on Wednesday. "Second of all, if they thought he was deportable on the basis of his gang membership, they could have brought charges in the immigration court."
"They did none of those things. They just stuck him on a plane," he added.
On Friday, Xinis chalked up the government's claims that Garcia was a gang member to "just chatter."
“In a court of law when someone is accused of membership in such a violent and predatory organization, it comes in form of indictment or criminal proceeding so we can assess facts,” Xinis said. “I haven't seen any of those.”
Vance described Garcia as “not exactly father of the year” in an interview with Fox News on Thursday.
Sura shot back, telling NBC News on Friday: “He’s wrong. My husband’s the best father. He cares for our son who is in the high autism spectrum and it’s tough, but he’s able to manage it.”
Garcia's deportation appears to coincide with the departure of three planes carrying noncitizens to El Salvador on March 15, whom the Trump administration accused of being Venezuelan gang members.
Noem visited the prison last week. She posed for a photo-op in front of prison cells packed with the deported men, whose heads were forcibly shaved by authorities and were shirtless.
On Friday, Sandoval-Moshenberg used Noem's visit to justify his argument that the government can retrieve Garcia.
"Kristi Noem was inside the walls of the prison last week," he said. "Good reason to believe government would be successful if so ordered."
Ahead of the hearing, Sura addressed reporters through tears.
“Kilmar, if you can hear me, I miss you so much,” she said. “And I’m doing the best to fight for you and our children.”
