GREENBERT, Maryland – The lawyer for his father in Maryland, who was accidentally deported to El Salvador, is scheduled to clash with a Trump administration lawyer and a court on May 16th.
Kilmer Abrego Garcia’s lawyers say in court records the Department of Justice withheld information as to what it has or does not have in order to comply with the court’s ruling that he must return the United States.
“This case is more about restoring the rule of law than unidentified power,” Attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said in a statement before the hearing. “The Department of Homeland Security must comply with the immigration court orders, otherwise such courts will be pointless.”
Several documents submitted in this case are sealed, and the government cites the state’s secret privileges, which allow the public to maintain sensitive national security information.
But Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said several senior officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem and President Donald Trump, have spoken publicly about the incident.
“Once again and again, the government has kept plaintiffs on the wall by asserting their privileges that do not support the secret and deliberation process, withholding written discoveries and instructing witnesses not to answer even basic questions,” Abrego Garcia’s lawyer said in a document filed on May 12.
“Even though the government is free to speak publicly about Abrego Garcia, the lawsuit lays claiming secrets,” they said.
Maryland District Judge Paula Sinnis is set to hear more debate from the government about why the information should be kept confidential, with the May 16th case in place.
Abrego Garcia, 29, was expelled from the United States and sent back to El Salvador in March despite the government banning his return to his home country.
The Trump administration has admitted in court records that he was accidentally deported, but claims he has no authority to bring him back because he is abroad. The US government claims he is a member of the MS-13 crime gang, but Abrego Garcia and his lawyers say it is not.
Sinis ruled that when the government deported him, he acted illegally and ordered the government to “promote” his return. The U.S. Supreme Court also held that in its 9-0 decision on April 10, the government must begin the process of releasing him. However, he stays in a prison outside San Salvador.
His family sued the US government for demanding his return.
Union sheet metal worker and father of three, Abrego Garcia lived in Maryland for more than a decade after illegally entering the United States. He was detained in March by an immigration officer near his home in Bertlesville, Maryland, about 30 minutes outside Washington.
He was last seen in April. This allowed US Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) to meet him at a hotel in San Salvador.
Prior to the May 16th hearing, they chanted “Bring Him Home” which was gathered outside the courthouse.
“These are nothing but excuses,” said Ama Frimpong, legal director for CASA, an immigration rights nonprofit. “We are essentially looking for a judge who will admit that the government is trying to delay and honestly refuse to follow court orders to bring Kilmer home.”
US Congressman Glenn Evie, who attended the rally, added: “Yes, it’s about one man, but it’s about the US constitution.”
