The Trump administration defied a court order on Friday to provide information on how it planned to bring Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. from El Salvador — raising fears that he won’t be returned at all.
“This administration is taking a maximalist view towards their authorities in this matter, which raises the very concerning prospect that Mr. Abrego Garcia is going to continue to be detained in this prison indefinitely, while the government stalls,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, an immigration lawyer and senior fellow at the American Immigration Council.
The case of Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old who lived in Maryland with his family until being deported to an El Salvador prison, is testing the power of the courts over President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts.