Source: Fox News
Summary
A U.S. judge in Maryland, Paula Xinis, has rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia. The judge took issue with the Justice Department’s demand for a ruling by mid-April and scolded the department for trying to “dictate” the court’s actions. The case has been ongoing since March 2025, with Abrego Garcia’s status being at the center of a legal and political controversy. The judge has set new briefing dates and a hearing date for April 28.
Our Reading
As expected, the matter has reached another stage.
The Trump administration’s lawyers told the court they intend to deport Abrego Garcia to Liberia, despite a new agreement between the U.S. and Costa Rica that would allow him to be sent there. Acting ICE director Todd Lyons argued that allowing Abrego Garcia to be sent to Costa Rica would be “prejudicial” to the U.S. The judge noted that the government’s suggestion that Abrego Garcia could “remove himself” to Costa Rica was a “fantasy.”
The judge’s careful and methodological style of questioning has sparked criticism from Trump allies and Justice Department lawyers, who have expressed frustration with the lengthy timeline and what they argue are undue delays to removal efforts.
The case has been further complicated by several details, including the November 2025 determination that Abrego Garcia had not been issued a final notice of removal needed to deport him to a third country.
The judge’s unusually pointed order lays out what she described as a “careful recapitulation” of the case history, before concluding that “if anyone, Respondents bear the responsibility for substantial delay.”
The Trump administration’s actions in this case have become a familiar ritual, with the government making threats to remove Abrego Garcia to countries in Africa with no real chance of success.
Author: Evan Null
Key Players
Judge Paula Xinis, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Trump administration, Justice Department, Acting ICE director Todd Lyons
Timeline
March 2025: Abrego Garcia is deported to El Salvador, despite a 2019 order from an immigration judge.
November 2025: Determination that Abrego Garcia had not been issued a final notice of removal needed to deport him to a third country.
February: Judge Xinis says the government has failed to provide the court with any “good reason to believe” that they plan to remove Abrego Garcia to a third country in the “reasonably foreseeable future.”
April: Judge Xinis rejects the Trump administration’s attempt to deport Abrego Garcia to Liberia and sets new briefing dates and a hearing date for April 28.
Recurring Themes
Delays, deportation, immigration, jurisdiction, presidential powers, diplomacy, foreign sovereigns
