Judge turns down attempt by Trump administration to dismiss Abrego Garcia suit

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Maryland Democratic U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey, who represents the district where Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his wife live, led the chant “bring him home” outside the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland shortly before a hearing in Abrego Garcia’s case on Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)  

A federal judge in Maryland on Wednesday denied the Trump administration’s attempts to dismiss a lawsuit by wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was returned to the United States last month.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis submitted a brief paperless order that did not elaborate on her reasoning for denying two government requests to dismiss the civil case, other than saying she discussed it during a Monday hearing.

The U.S. Justice Department had sought to have Abrego Garcia’s suit tossed for lack of jurisdiction while he was detained in his native El Salvador, arguing the federal government was powerless to compel a foreign government to action. The department’s lawyers made the same argument once he was returned, contending the suit seeking his return had become moot.

Xinis is scheduled to hold another hearing in the high-profile case at her Greenbelt, Maryland, courtroom Thursday.

Justice Department attorneys conceded in March that Abrego Garcia, who entered the country illegally but had been granted legal protections from deportation to his home country and had lived for years in Maryland with his family, had been wrongly removed that month to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador.

But the administration insisted for months it was unable to bring Abrego Garcia back to the United States, while also claiming he was a gang member involved in human trafficking who should not have been allowed to reside in the country. Abrego Garcia, who remains in custody in a jail in Tennessee, has denied those charges.

A sealed federal indictment brought charges against him in May and U.S. authorities the next month extracted him from El Salvador to Tennessee, where his criminal case is proceeding.

This post was originally authored and published by Jacob Fischler from Missouri Independent via RSS Feed. Join today to get your news feed on Nationwide Report®.