A federal judge in Maryland tore into Department of Justice lawyers during a hearing on Thursday, demanding answers about the government’s push to deport Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia. The session in Greenbelt was coping sessions for the DOJ’s case, with U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis pressing for proof of a final removal order that dates back to a 2019 immigration court proceeding. Without that document, Abrego Garcia could walk free under established Supreme Court precedent, allowing him to remain in the U.S. while facing separate criminal charges in Tennessee.
The case stems from Abrego Garcia’s deportation to El Salvador in March 2025, despite a court order blocking it. Officials called it an administrative mistake, but the incident sparked months of legal battles, including a Supreme Court review in April that upheld a lower court’s injunction to bring him back. Now detained in Prince George’s County, he attended the hearing after a prayer vigil with his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura.
Xinis didn’t hold back in questioning DOJ attorney Drew Ensign. “You’ve raised all these arguments, and they all depend on me having a withholding of removal order.” She dismissed suggestions that an immigration judge had simply “meant” to issue the order, saying, “This doesn’t look anything like a final order of removal… It’s not even close.”
On the government’s failure to explain why Costa Rica backed out of earlier assurances to accept him, Xinis demanded evidence: “You’re saying Costa Rica has now rescinded… But that’s in the offer, it’s [on] the record, it wasn’t conditional… That’s what I don’t understand. And if you are saying that … I’d love to see the evidence, so that I can rest assured this is not just an empty ‘word salad’ of an affidavit.”
The judge also criticized the DOJ for not producing a knowledgeable witness on deportation logistics to Liberia. An ICE official testified but faltered under scrutiny, unable to provide specifics on safety assurances or travel details. Xinis summed up the session bluntly: “Today was a zero in my view.”
Government efforts to send Abrego Garcia elsewhere have repeatedly failed. Attempts to deport him to Eswatini, Uganda, and Ghana fell through in recent months. Liberia emerged as the latest option after his asylum bid was rejected in October. Yet questions linger about these mishaps—how does a simple “error” turn into a global chase, with African nations turning him away one after another? Some see patterns of deeper interference, perhaps from holdovers in the bureaucracy resistant to enforcing border laws.
Abrego Garcia faces human smuggling charges in Nashville, with a hearing set for next month on his motion to dismiss them as selective prosecution. DHS has labeled him an MS-13 gang member with a violent history, claims his lawyers deny. If released, he could stay with his brother in the U.S. pending trial, while the DOJ might appeal to higher courts.
Xinis promised a ruling soon, noting the weight of the issues. “I don’t even know if it matters here, frankly, because if I make a finding that a final order doesn’t exist, then we are done.” As of now, no decision has been issued, leaving Abrego Garcia’s future in limbo amid ongoing scrutiny of immigration enforcement under President Trump.
