Xinis had asked the government to detail Abrego Garcia’s whereabouts and conditions and explain any efforts taken to bring him back to the U.S.
“It is my understanding based on official reporting from our Embassy in San Salvador that Abrego Garcia is currently being held in the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador,” wrote Michael G. Kozak, a State Department official, in a sworn declaration. “He is alive and secure in that facility. He is detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador.”
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers urged the court to order the government to take specific steps to bring the Maryland man back to the U.S., including by requesting his release and providing transportation back to the U.S.
The government objected to the requests yesterday, pointing to El Salvador’s Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s visit with Trump today as a reason it can’t provide further information.
“Defendants will continue to share updates as appropriate,” the administration officials wrote. “Any further intrusion into this sensitive process — and any directive from the Court to take action against the nation of El Salvador — would be inconsistent with the care counseled by the Supreme Court.”
