Trump administration asks judge to dismiss Abrego Garcia case

Dan Belson, Baltimore Sun on May 28, 2025

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The Department of Justice asked Tuesday for the federal judge overseeing efforts to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. to drop the mistakenly deported Maryland man’s case altogether.

The request comes after two months of unprecedented proceedings where the Trump administration has tested the limits of presidential power and judicial oversight by stonewalling multiple court orders to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return or explain its efforts to do so.

The Justice Department argued in its Tuesday motion that U.S. courts don’t have jurisdiction over Abrego Garcia, 29, because he has been in the custody of El Salvador since U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement mistakenly deported him in mid-March to a notorious Salvadoran mega-prison.

Lawyers representing Abrego Garcia’s family, who filed the lawsuit weeks after the Prince George’s County resident was picked up by ICE officers, had not responded to the government’s motion. Over the Memorial Day weekend, Salvadoran officials barred Democratic Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey from visiting Abrego Garcia; last month, Ivey’s colleague, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, had a brief meeting with the Beltsville resident.

District Judge Paula Xinis ordered in early April for the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S., a ruling that was upheld by a unanimous Supreme Court and twice by an intermediate court. The Trump administration has argued in court that it can’t be ordered to release him from custody in El Salvador, and vowed publicly that Abrego Garcia will never come back to the U.S.

The Justice Department, which is representing the multiple federal agencies listed as defendants, claimed in its Tuesday filing that the Trump administration is still making “every effort to facilitate (Abrego Garcia’s) return.” They have, however, largely refused to say what those efforts are, invoking “state secrets” and attorney-client privilege.

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