The Trump administration provided a Saturday wellness report for the Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in their first daily update required by a court order.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the White House to document reports on the status of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in an effort to determine whether the administration is complying with her order to “facilitate” the man’s return to US soil. He is currently being held in the country’s maximum-security CECOT prison.
“He’s alive and safe in that facility. “He is detained under El Salvador’s sovereign, domestic authority,” wrote Michael Kozack, a senior bureau official at the State Department, in a Saturday filing.
He stated that the information was based on official reports from the US Embassy in San Salvador.
Lawyers for Abrego Garcia have proposed that the federal government be held in contempt for delaying efforts to have their client returned.
The Trump administration acknowledged that Abrego Garcia was removed in a “administrative error,” but maintains that the president cannot be forced to orchestrate his return because he is now in the custody of Salvadoran authorities.
Despite a series of appeals, the Supreme Court upheld Xinis’ ruling, which stated that US officials must “facilitate” the Maryland man’s return.
Abrego Garcia was granted protection from removal to El Salvador in a 2019 judgment by a United States immigration court, citing threats of violence and persecution from gangs in his home country if returned.
While his legal battle plays out in court, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys submitted a proposed order Saturday requesting that Xinis direct the federal government to formally request their client’s release to US custody through CECOT, prepare all paperwork required for his return, dispatch personnel to accompany Abrego Garcia during his travel, and provide air transportation for Abrego Garcia to return to Maryland, because he “may not be in current possession of sufficient identification.”
