By Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man wrongly deported from Maryland to El Salvador before being returned to the United States on migrant smuggling charges, is seeking sanctions against the Trump administration for allegedly stonewalling an inquiry into efforts to secure his return.
The case has become a flashpoint over President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies. Critics have held it up as an example of the administration’s willingness to deny due process and evade court orders in its push to deport migrants.
Lawyers for Abrego Garcia argued in a court filing late on Wednesday that a judge should punish the federal government for failing to provide meaningful information about steps U.S. agencies took to comply with court orders to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S.
“The Government’s defiance has not been subtle. It has been vocal and sustained and flagrant,” Abrego Garcia’s lawyers wrote in the filing.
The filing asked U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis to conclude that the Trump administration did not take all available steps to bring about his return. It also seeks an unspecified sum in fines and to compel U.S. officials to turn over documents they have previously withheld, citing legal privileges.
Spokespeople from the U.S. Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the filing.
The Trump administration has argued it satisfied court orders by bringing Abrego Garcia to Tennessee last week to face a federal criminal indictment accusing him of transporting migrants living in the U.S. illegally to destinations around the country.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have denounced the charges as “fantastical” and argued that the indictment should not end a separate lawsuit over his wrongful deportation in March. Abrego Garcia is set to appear for a detention hearing in the criminal case on Friday.
The Trump administration has accused Abrego Garcia of being a member of the MS-13 street gang, a charge his lawyers deny.
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return after U.S. officials conceded he was mistakenly deported to his native El Salvador despite a prior court order barring him from being returned there.
Administration officials initially said they had no way to compel El Salvador to return Abrego Garcia, who had been held in a Salvadorian prison, to U.S. custody.
Xinis, who is presiding over the lawsuit, rejected those arguments and in April allowed Abrego Garcia’s lawyers to question U.S. officials and seek documents on any steps the Trump administration had taken to secure his return.
The Trump administration raised several legal privileges, arguing it did not have to divulge information that could impact U.S. national security or complicate diplomatic negotiations.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Nia Williams)
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