State Secrets Privilege In Deportation Case Is ‘Inadequate’

May 17, 2025 4:39 am

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge has told the Trump administration that its explanation for state secrets privilege in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case is “inadequate.” U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis made those remarks Friday afternoon in a Maryland courtroom. She had ordered Abrego Garcia’s return from El Salvador in April after he was mistakenly deported. She has since directed the Trump administration to provide information about what it’s done to bring him back. Government lawyers say those details are protected state secrets and shouldn’t be released. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys say the U.S. has done nothing to bring him back.