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The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday that the whereabouts of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland-based Salvadoran immigrant who was mistakenly deported to a high-security prison in El Salvador filled with criminals and gang members last month, are currently unknown.
This admission follows the Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday to uphold a lower federal court’s ruling to facilitate Garcia’s return from the Central American prison. It also comes after U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the DOJ to provide further details about Garcia’s status following the Supreme Court’s ruling.
On Thursday evening, Judge Xinis demanded that the DOJ submit specific information by 9:30 a.m. on Friday, including: (1) Garcia’s current location and custodial status; (2) what steps, if any, have been taken to facilitate his immediate return to the U.S.; and (3) what additional steps will be taken, and when, to ensure his return. Later on Friday, she requested daily updates on Garcia’s location and the government’s efforts to bring him back.
During a federal court hearing on Friday afternoon, Judge Xinis repeatedly questioned DOJ attorney Drew Ensign about Garcia’s whereabouts. “Where is he and under whose authority?” Xinis asked. Ensign responded that he did not have that information, confirming that Garcia is under the custody of Salvadoran officials but adding that the government had not confirmed his location prior to the hearing.
“I’m not asking for state secrets. I’m asking where one man is,” Xinis said. “The government was prohibited from sending him to El Salvador, and now I’m asking a very simple question: Where is he?” Ensign reiterated that he lacked the information.
When asked if the government had taken any steps to facilitate Garcia’s return, Ensign stated it was “unclear.” Judge Xinis sharply responded, “That means they haven’t done anything. Despite this court’s directive, your clients have done nothing to facilitate the return of Mr. Garcia.”
The DOJ submitted a written response in the federal case, arguing that the Supreme Court’s order directed the court to clarify its directive regarding Garcia’s return and that the government needed time to review the order. “Defendants are unable to provide the information requested by the Court on the impracticable deadline set by the Court hours after the Supreme Court issued its order,” DOJ lawyers wrote. They added that foreign affairs “cannot operate on judicial timelines” due to sensitive considerations.
Federal court filings revealed that Garcia fled El Salvador in 2011 to escape gang violence, entering the U.S. illegally before settling in Maryland with his brother, a U.S. citizen. He later formed a family with Jennifer Vasquez Sura, a U.S. citizen, and worked in construction to support them. In 2019, Garcia was detained by police who accused him of being a gang member, despite his denials. He was eventually released and married Sura later that year.
However, Garcia was arrested in Baltimore on March 12 after authorities discovered he had entered the U.S. illegally. He was deported to El Salvador and placed in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum-security prison. His deportation came despite a federal injunction prohibiting his removal.
Garcia’s lawyers and family have expressed deep concern over his safety and whereabouts. Sura, his wife, stated, “I’m terrified for him.” Judge Xinis criticized the government’s handling of the case, saying, “There’s no evidence as to where he is today. And that is extremely troubling.”
The DOJ maintains that it is reviewing the Supreme Court’s order and evaluating its next steps but has yet to provide concrete information about Garcia’s location or the efforts to return him to the U.S.
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