No evidence Trump has tried to return wrongly deported man

16/4/2025 6:10

A U.S. judge on Tuesday said there was no evidence the Trump administration had tried to secure the return of a man illegally deported to El Salvador, but said she would not hold the government in contempt of court for now.



At a hearing to consider her next steps on what she called the Trump administration's failure to update her on efforts to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said the administration had not given her any information of value about what it had done.



"There will be no tolerance for gamesmanship or grandstanding," Xinis said at a hearing in Greenbelt, Maryland.



"To date, what the record shows is that nothing has been done. Nothing."



Xinis said she would require the Trump administration to produce documents and have officials sit for depositions by April 23 to explain steps they have taken to secure Abrego Garcia's return.



The case is one of several that have sparked concerns among Democrats and some legal analysts that Republican President Donald Trump's administration is willing to disregard the judiciary, an independent and equal branch of government.