DOJ says whereabouts of Maryland immigrant wrongly deported to El Salvador are unknown

The Department of Justice connected Friday said the whereabouts of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland-based Salvadoran migrant wrongly deported to an El Salvador megaprison with hundreds of criminals and pack members past month, are unknown.

The admittance comes aft the Supreme Court upheld a little national court's determination Thursday to facilitate Garcia's instrumentality from the Central American prison. It besides comes aft U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the DOJ to taxable much accusation astir Garcia pursuing the SCOTUS ruling.

Xinis connected Thursday evening ordered the DOJ to record the pursuing accusation nary aboriginal than 9:30 a.m. connected Friday: "(1) the existent carnal determination and custodial presumption of Abrego Garcia; (2) what steps, if any, Defendants person taken to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s contiguous instrumentality to the United States; and (3) what further steps Defendants volition take, and when, to facilitate his return."

DOJ officials and AbregoGarcia's attorneys had a proceeding successful national tribunal connected Friday afternoon, astatine which constituent Judge Xinis repeatedly asked DOJ lawyer Drew Ensign astir Garcia's whereabouts.

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

"Where is helium and nether whose authority?" Xinis said successful tribunal Friday.

 "I bash not person that information," Ensign responded, adding that Abrego Garcia is presently successful the custody of Salvadoran officials and that officials did not supply confirmation of his whereabouts anterior to the Friday hearing.

"I’m not asking for authorities secrets. I’m asking wherever 1 antheral is."

"I’m not asking for authorities secrets. I’m asking wherever 1 antheral is," Xinis said. "The authorities was prohibited from sending him to El Salvador, and present I’m asking a precise elemental question: Where is he?"

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"I bash not person that information," Ensign said.

In this undated photograph provided by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, a antheral identified by Jennifer Vasquez Sura arsenic her husband, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is led by unit by guards done the Terrorism Confinement Center successful Tecoluca, El Salvador. (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland via AP) (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland via AP)

"I americium asking a precise elemental question. Where is he?" Xinis repeated

"I bash not person immoderate information,"  Ensign said again. "I bash not person plaintiffs’ assertion that helium is successful El Salvador nether the power of that government. The authorities has not submitted immoderate grounds that would beryllium contrary to that."

"There’s nary grounds arsenic to wherever helium is today. And that is highly troubling."

Xinis further asked if the authorities had done thing to facilitate Abrego Garcia's instrumentality to the United States, to which Ensign responded it was "unclear" if they had.

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"That means they haven’t done anything," Xinis said. "Despite this court’s directive, your clients person done thing to facilitate the instrumentality of Mr. Garcia. To accidental to maine that you don’t person idiosyncratic cognition means that you don’t person effectual interaction with your clients."

Justice Department attorneys connected Friday said they are unaware of Maryland migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia's whereabouts aft helium was deported to a Salvadoran situation past month. (Fox News)

 Ensign said the authorities is "evaluating what tin beryllium shared and is not yet prepared to resoluteness that question."

 The 2 went backmost and distant repeatedly astir the details of Abrego Garcia's case.

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Xinis said it is "quite wide the authorities is playing a crippled with their ain lawyers."

The DOJ besides submitted a written effect successful the national lawsuit Friday stating that "[d]efendants are incapable to supply the accusation requested by the Court connected the impracticable deadline acceptable by the Court hours aft the Supreme Court issued its order."

A situation defender transfers deportees from the U.S. to the Terrorism Confinement Center successful Tecoluca, El Salvador, connected Sunday. (El Salvador statesmanlike property bureau via AP)

"The Supreme Court’s bid directs the Court to ‘clarify its directive…’ The Court has not yet clarified what it means to ‘facilitate’ oregon ‘effectuate’ the instrumentality arsenic it relates to this case, arsenic Plaintiff is successful the custody of a overseas sovereign," DOJ lawyers wrote. "Defendants request— and require—the accidental to little that contented anterior to being taxable to immoderate compliance deadlines. Needless to say, Defendants were nether nary work to instrumentality enactment nether the court’s bid portion it was administratively stayed by the Chief Justice of the United States."

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DOJ attorneys added that the national tribunal did not springiness a capable magnitude of clip to "review the Supreme Court’s Order pursuing the dissolution of the administrative enactment successful this case."

"Defendants are not successful a presumption wherever they ‘can’ stock immoderate accusation requested by the Court. That is the reality."

They further stated successful the tribunal filing that the DOJ defendants are reviewing SCOTUS bid and "actively evaluating adjacent steps."

A situation serviceman guards a compartment astatine maximum information penitentiary CECOT (Center for the Compulsory Housing of Terrorism) connected April 4, 2025, successful Tecoluca, San Vicente, El Salvador. ( (Photo by Alex Peña/Getty Images))

"It is unreasonable and impracticable for Defendants to uncover imaginable steps earlier those steps are reviewed, agreed upon, and vetted. Foreign affairs cannot run connected judicial timelines, successful portion due to the fact that it involves delicate country-specific considerations wholly inappropriate for judicial review," Ensign and different DOJ attorneys wrote.

Federal tribunal filings showed Abrego Garcia had fled El Salvador to flight pack violence. Starting astir 2006, pack members "stalked, hit, and threatened to kidnap and termination him successful bid to coerce his parents to succumb to their expanding demands for extortion."

He entered the United States illegally successful 2011 and traveled to Maryland, wherever his older brother, a U.S. citizen, lived.

Around 2016, Abrego Garcia became romantically progressive with a pistillate U.S. national — Jennifer Vasquez Sura — and her 2 children, besides U.S. citizens. They moved successful unneurotic and the pistillate became large with his child. Abrego Garcia worked successful the operation manufacture to enactment his family, tribunal filings say.

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the woman of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, speaks during a quality league astatine CASA's Multicultural Center successful Hyattsville, Md., Friday, April 4, 2025.  (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

On March 28, 2019, Abrego Garcia went to a Home Depot successful Hyattsville, Maryland, to solicit employment and was recruited by 3 different men. Prince George County Police Department soon arrived astatine the country and detained each 4 men.

At the constabulary station, the 4 young men were placed into antithetic rooms and questioned. Plaintiff Abrego Garcia was asked if helium was a pack member; erstwhile helium told constabulary helium was not, they said that they did not judge him and repeatedly demanded that helium supply accusation astir different pack members," tribunal documents state. "The constabulary told Plaintiff Abrego Garcia that helium would beryllium released if helium cooperated, but helium repeatedly explained that helium did not person immoderate accusation to springiness due to the fact that helium did not cognize anything."

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A justice aboriginal granted his release, and Abrego Garcia joined his now-wife successful 2019. He did, however, miss the commencement of his kid portion successful national custody, the national ailment says. 

Abrego Garcia was arrested successful Baltimore connected March 12 aft helium worked a displacement arsenic a expanse metallic apprentice successful Baltimore and picked up his now-5-year-old son, who has autism and different disabilities, from his grandmother’s house, the ailment says.