The Abrego Garcia Constitutional Crisis

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Timeline of Events

• Approximately 2019: Abrego Garcia is arrested while looking for work at a Home Depot in Maryland. An immigration judge initially orders his deportation.
• Later Immigration Proceedings (Date unspecified): An immigration judge ultimately determines that Abrego Garcia should not be deported to El Salvador due to potential persecution, issuing a "withholding from removal" order.
• Recently Before March 15, 2025: Federal immigration agents pull over Abrego Garcia, falsely accuse him of MS-13 membership, and incorrectly tell him his protected status has changed.
• March 15, 2025: Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia is deported to El Salvador and sent to the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), a notorious Salvadoran prison, along with scores of other migrants (Salvadoran and Venezuelan). The Trump administration later acknowledges this deportation was initially an error.
• Sometime After March 15, 2025: Abrego Garcia's family sues the U.S. government, claiming wrongful deportation.
• Week of April 7-11, 2025 (Implied): A federal district court judge (Paula Xinis) orders the Trump administration to "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S.
• Week of April 7-11, 2025 (Implied): A federal appeals court agrees with Judge Xinis, likening Abrego Garcia's removal to a kidnapping.
• Week of April 7-11, 2025 (Implied): The Supreme Court weighs in, endorsing the view that the administration needs to "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's return but stops short of ordering it.
• Shortly Before April 14, 2025: President Trump, on Truth Social, claims that the fate of the deported migrants is in the hands of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, as they are in El Salvador's sole custody.
• Monday, April 14, 2025: President Trump holds an Oval Office news conference with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele. Trump states he is "powerless" to seek Abrego Garcia's freedom, deferring to Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bondi states it's up to El Salvador to return him, and the U.S. would only "facilitate" by providing a plane if El Salvador agreed. Bukele calls Abrego Garcia a "terrorist" and dismisses the idea of returning him as "preposterous."
• Monday, April 14, 2025: Trump's advisor Stephen Miller claims on Fox News that the acknowledgment of wrongful deportation was by a "saboteur" and that Abrego Garcia was "rightfully sent to the right place."
• Monday, April 14, 2025: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during the Oval Office meeting, states that no U.S. court has the right to conduct U.S. foreign policy.
• Monday, April 14, 2025: Senator Chris Van Hollen announces he will travel to El Salvador on Wednesday to check on Abrego Garcia and discuss his release.
• Tuesday, April 15, 2025: A hearing is held in Federal District Court in Maryland before Judge Paula Xinis. She scolds the Trump administration for not complying with the Supreme Court order and for "dragging its feet."
• Tuesday, April 15, 2025: Judge Xinis states her intention to force Trump officials to reveal their efforts to secure Abrego Garcia's return through written questions and depositions. She sets a fast schedule for this process, including allowing Abrego Garcia's lawyers to make document requests and depose administration officials.
• Tuesday, April 15, 2025: Justice Department lawyer Drew Ensign argues that the administration interprets "facilitate" to mean removing domestic obstacles to Abrego Garcia's return if he presents himself at a port of entry.