A federal judge is temporarily stopping the discovery in the case of unfair deportation of Kilmar Abrego García.
The American district judge Paula Xinis issued an order on Wednesday night stopping the accelerated discovery in the case for seven days. The measure occurred after the Trump administration, on a more early motion in the day, asked the judge to pause.
The judge’s order said the pause was made with the government agreement and the lawyers representing Abrego García.
On Tuesday, Xinis had ordered the Government to answer more questions about unfair deportation and answered on Wednesday night to the requests for discovery of Abrego García’s lawyers.
Last week, Xinis criticized the lawyers of the Department of Justice about their inaction in the case and ordered government officials to testify under oath through the discovery issued.
“Since this court expressly warned the defendants and their lawyer who strictly adhere to their discovery obligations … their boiler and non -particular objections are not valid and reflect an intentional negative to comply with the order of discovery of this court and the rules of government,” Xinis wrote on Tuesday.
Abrego García, a Salvadoran native who has been living with his wife and children in Maryland, was deported in March to the mega prison of Cecot of El Salvador, despite a 2019 court order that prohibits deportation to that country due to fear of persecution, after the Trump administration said he was a member of the Gang MS-13 criminal.
The Trump administration, although he acknowledged that Abrego García was deported to El Salvador by mistake, has said that his alleged affiliation of MS-13 makes him inelegable to return to the United States. His wife and lawyer have denied that he is a member of MS-13.
Judge Xinis at the beginning of this month ruled that the Trump administration must “facilitate” the return of Abrego García, and the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously said that ruling, “with the due consideration due to the deference owed to the executive branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”
Kilmar Abrego García, a Salvadoran migrant in this booklet image obtained by Reuters on April 9, 2025.
Abrego Garcia Family Via Reuters
On early Tuesday, government lawyers said that providing detailed information on the legal basis for the confinement of Abrego García would be “totally inappropriate and an invasion of diplomatic discussions,” according to a joint letter that describes discovery disputes between the parties.
“After the repatriation of Abrego with El Salvador, his detention was no longer a matter of the confinement of the United States, but an issue belonging to the Government of El Salvador, which has been explained to the plaintiffs repeatedly,” said the government.
Abrego García’s lawyers in La Carta accused the Trump administration of responding to their discovery requests producing “no substance” and providing interrogation responses that are not “not answered.”
