Trump Administration Live Updates: Judge Orders Return of Man Who Was Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador
Supporters of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, protested Friday outside the U.S. District Courthouse in Greenbelt, Md.Credit...Rod Lamkey Jr. for The New York Times
Where Things Stand- Deportation ruling: A federal judge told the Trump administration on Friday that it had until Monday night to return a Salvadoran man it had mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador. The Justice Department has admitted it made an “administrative error” last month when it ordered the removal the migrant, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, but had said there was little it could do to retrieve him. Read more ›
- TikTok reprieve: President Trump announced on Friday that he was again extending the window for TikTok to be separated from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, or face a ban in the United States. “We do not want TikTok to ‘go dark,’” Mr. Trump wrote on social media. The tremendously popular app had faced a Saturday deadline for a deal and now has until mid-June. Read more ›
- Unions sue: A group of employee unions sued the Trump administration, seeking to stop its efforts to strip union representation from about one million federal workers and nullify collective bargaining agreements through an executive order designating their work as central to “national security missions.” Read more ›
 
April 4, 2025, 3:18 p.m. ET 24 minutes ago
Aishvarya Kavi and Alan Feuer
Aishvarya Kavi reported from Greenbelt, Md., and Alan Feuer from New York.
A federal judge orders the Trump administration to bring back a migrant it deported to El Salvador.
Protesters at the U.S. District Courthouse in Greenbelt, Md., on Friday. Credit...Rod Lamkey Jr. for The New York Times
A federal judge gave the Trump administration until the end of Monday to return to the United States a Maryland man who was inadvertently deported to El Salvador last month despite a court order allowing him stay in the country.
In a ruling from the bench on Friday, the judge, Paula Xinis, said that administration officials had acted without “legal basis” last month when they arrested the man, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, and put him on a plane — with no due process — to a notorious Salvadoran prison.
The decision by Judge Xinis, which came during a hearing in Federal District Court in Maryland, was a sharp rebuke to the Trump administration. In court papers filed this week, administration officials had said there was little they could do to get Mr. Abrego Garcia back from El Salvador, even after acknowledging that his deportation on March 15 had been a mistake.
The White House has not reacted to the judge’s ruling. President Trump and some of his top aides have repeatedly and aggressively attacked other federal judges who have questioned their attempts to carry out their deportation policies.
The case of Mr. Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant whose wife and three children are U.S. citizens, has become the latest flashpoint in a multifront battle between immigration lawyers and the White House, which has been ramping up deportations using both traditional and highly unusual methods.
The case has also put a spotlight on efforts by the administration to use accusations that migrants are members of violent street gangs as a way to accelerate their removal from the country.
In court filings, the Justice Department has accused Mr. Abrego Garcia, 29, of belonging to a transnational gang with roots in El Salvador called MS-13. But officials have offered only limited evidence to support their claims, and Mr. Abrego Garcia has denied them.
During the hearing on Friday, Judge Xinis expressed skepticism about any ties Mr. Abrego Garcia has to MS-13, noting there was little proof that he belonged to the gang.
“In a court of law, when someone is accused of membership in such a violent and predatory organization, it comes in the form of an indictment, complaint, criminal proceeding — a robust process, so we can address the facts,” Judge Xinis said. “I haven’t yet heard that from the government.”
Jennifer Stefania Vasquez Sura, who is married to Mr. Abrego Garcia, outside the court on Friday. Credit...Rod Lamkey Jr. for The New York Times
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