Obama-appointed Judge To Rule On Motion To Dismiss In High-stakes Abrego Garcia Case Hearing

Justice Department lawyers and attorneys for Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia will quadrate disconnected successful tribunal Monday arsenic a national judge successful Maryland weighs a flurry of motions complete his U.S. custody – and nan Trump management pushes to disregard nan civilian lawsuit wholly – successful a intimately watched ineligible conflict that’s go a flashpoint successful President Donald Trump's migration crackdown. 

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis scheduled nan proceeding past week to see caller motions from some sides, aft Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported to El Salvador successful March and returned 3 months later to look criminal charges successful a different state.

The proceeding is each but definite to reignite a high-profile conflict complete Abrego Garcia's ineligible position successful nan U.S., which is presently playing retired successful 2 abstracted national courts.

Ahead of nan 11 a.m. hearing, here's what to cognize astir nan civilian lawsuit – and imaginable adjacent steps from Judge Xinis.

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Demonstrators stitchery extracurricular nan U.S. District Court successful Greenbelt, Maryland, to protestation nan detention of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador successful March. (Breanne Deppisch/Fox News Digital)

Case history

The proceeding successful Maryland comes aft Salvadorian migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia was summarily deported by Trump officials to El Salvador successful March successful usurpation of an existing tribunal order. His family sued nan Trump management complete his removal almost immediately, and later that month, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, an Obama appointee, ordered nan Trump management to "facilitate" Abrego Garica's return to nan U.S. 

The ruling was later upheld by nan Supreme Court, though it took 3 months – and galore find hearings earlier Xinis – for Trump officials to yet comply pinch nan court's bid and return him to nan U.S. successful June.

On return, Abrego Garcia was instantly taken into custody successful Tennessee for national charges stemming from a 2022 postulation stop. Court documents show nan charges were brought successful precocious May, prompting questions arsenic to when nan investigation, and nan impaneling of a expansive jury, would person taken place.

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Demonstrators protestation nan deportation of immigrants extracurricular nan Permanent Mission of El Salvador to nan United Nations connected April 24, 2025, successful New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Monday's motions hearing

It’s unclear really acold Xinis will spell successful addressing nan competing requests revenge by some sides, though she signaled past week that nan proceeding will stay narrowly focused connected nan government’s mobility to disregard nan civilian lawsuit and nan plaintiffs’ bid to transportation Abrego Garcia into U.S. custody successful Maryland.

Abrego Garcia's lawyers had asked Xinis to rumor an bid blocking his imaginable removal from nan U.S. without anterior notification, pointing to statements from nan Trump management arsenic grounds that they could effort to region him to a imaginable 3rd state different than El Salvador. 

"Defendants person many times stated their intent to region Mr. Abrego Garcia to a 3rd country," his lawyers said past week successful a filing, adding that he could look "persecution aliases torture if removed straight to various different countries," including Libya, South Sudan and Eritrea, which are notorious for quality authorities abuses. 

Meanwhile, caller allegations made successful tribunal filings days earlier could beryllium difficult for nan tribunal to separate successful its information of nan different issues.

Last week, Abrego Garcia alleged successful a filing that he was severely beaten and psychologically tortured successful El Salvador's maximum-security prison, CECOT, erstwhile he was detained location earlier this year.

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Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump and Pam Bondi during a furniture gathering astatine nan White House connected March 24, 2025. (Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Adding to nan complexity of nan matter is nan abstracted criminal lawsuit playing retired successful Tennessee. 

The national judge overseeing that lawsuit connected Thursday ordered nan Trump administration to comply pinch rules prohibiting Justice Department and DHS officials from making immoderate nationalist statements astir Abrego Garcia that could perchance prejudice a assemblage aliases effect nan integrity of nan tribunal proceedings, aft his attorneys accused management officials of months of "extensive and inflammatory extrajudicial comments" against their customer that threatened to prejudice his correct to a adjacent trial.

"Thus far, nan government’s unabated nationalist disparagement of [Abrego] has acold outpaced its expertise to muster existent evidence, notwithstanding its bonzer efforts to conjure up specified evidence," they wrote, informing that specified statements could complicate efforts to spot an impartial assemblage successful nan Middle District of Tennessee, wherever his proceedings is group to return place.

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Thousands of group stitchery successful Union Park, Chicago, to participate successful a rally against nan Trump management successful May 2025. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Next steps

It remains to beryllium seen what Xinis will do successful Abrego Garcia's civilian case, particularly arsenic nan criminal lawsuit successful Tennessee proceeds. 

But her frustration pinch nan Trump administration has been clear successful earlier proceedings. For months, Xinis struggled to get answers from Trump management officials connected Abrego Garcia's position successful El Salvador, arsenic good arsenic what, if any, efforts nan Trump authorities had taken to comply pinch her bid to facilitate his return to nan U.S., and astatine 1 clip suggested she could move to unfastened imaginable contempt proceedings against nan administration.

In May, Xinis sparred pinch nan Justice Department lawyers for much than 2 hours complete their deficiency of candor and compliance pinch nan find process and nan deadlines group by nan court. It was nan past nationalist position proceeding she presided complete earlier nan management returned Abrego Garcia to U.S. soil. 

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During that hearing, Judge Xinis rebuked nan Justice Department for attempting to invoke nan authorities secrets privilege via a footnote that referenced a filing successful a abstracted national tribunal case, earlier a different national judge. 

She besides excoriated nan deficiency of compliance from Trump management officials, and attempts to property nan management for answers, which she described arsenic beating a "frustrated and dormant horse."