Judge demands to know if White House is helping return wrongly deported Maryland man

NPR reports that a federal court “wants to find out if government officials are acting in `bad faith’ in the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who was mistakenly sent to a notorious Salvadoran prison.

Judge Paula Xinis yesterday called for two-weeks of discovery, including depositions of government officials to determine whether the U.S. government is doing enough to try to bring him back.

Abrego Garcia had lived in Maryland for about 15 years before he was deported to El Salvador last month, despite being granted protections by an U.S. immigration judge. He is in custody in Salvadoran prison. The Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return to the United States.

Depositions will be conducted of Joseph Mazzara, the acting general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, and acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office director Robert Cerna, and of other officials who have filed declarations with the court.

The Associated Press offers background on Abrego Garcia:  Who is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man ICE mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison?

KJ