Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, speaks during a news conference at CASA's Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-04-04T04:02:53Z GREENBELT, Md. (AP) A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to arrange for the return of a Maryland man to the United States after he was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison, while a U.S. government attorney was at a loss to explain what happened.The ruling rejected the White Houses claim that it lacks the power to retrieve Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, because he is no longer in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has corrected deportation errors in previous years, according to Abrego Garcias attorney and legal experts. This undated photo provided by CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, in April 2025, shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (CASA via AP) This undated photo provided by CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, in April 2025, shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (CASA via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The government filed an appeal immediately after the decision, while Trump administration officials repeated assertions that Abrego Garcia is a dangerous gang member and that U.S. courts have no control over the matter. We are unaware of the judge having jurisdiction or authority over the country of El Salvador, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement following the ruling by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis.ICE expelled the 29-year-old Abrego Garcia last month despite an immigration judges 2019 ruling that shielded him from deportation to El Salvador, where he faced likely persecution by local gangs. His mistaken deportation, described by the White House as an administrative error, has outraged many and raised concerns about expelling noncitizens who were granted permission to be in the U.S. The record reflects that Abrego Garcia was apprehended in Maryland without legal basis ... and without further process or legal justification was removed to El Salvador, Xinis wrote in her order. Before she issued the ruling, Xinis described the deportation as an illegal act and pressed Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni for answers, many of which he didnt have. Reuveni conceded to Xinis that Abrego Garcia should not have been removed from the U.S. and shouldnt have been sent to El Salvador. He couldnt tell the judge upon what authority he was arrested in Maryland. Im also frustrated that I have no answers for you for a lot of these questions, he said.The judge also questioned why Abrego Garcia was sent to the prison in El Salvador, which observers say is rife with human rights abuses.Why is he there, of all places? asked Xinis, who was nominated by President Barack Obama.I dont know, Reuveni replied. That information has not been given to me. Reuveni had asked the judge for more time 24 hours for the government to possibly broker Abrego Garcias return. Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, right, stands with supporters during a news conference at CASAs Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, right, stands with supporters during a news conference at CASAs Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Abrego Garcias attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, told the judge he was dismayed that the government had done nothing to get his client back, even after admitting its errors. Plenty of tweets. Plenty of White House press conferences. But no actual steps taken with the government of El Salvador to make it right, he said.Sandoval-Moshenberg said the governments response to its error was essentially to say, Weve tried nothing, and were all out of options.This is not something thats outside of the governments power, he said, noting that the U.S. routinely extradites gang leaders, drug traffickers and other imprisoned people from other countries.In legal briefs, Sandoval-Moshenberg asked the court to remove Abrego Garcia from the torture prison and return him to the custody of the United States. The White House has cast Abrego Garcia as an MS-13 gang member and doubled down on that claim after Fridays hearing. Tricia McLaughlin, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, stated that the U.S. has intelligence reports that he is involved in human trafficking. Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, speaks during a news conference at CASAs Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, speaks during a news conference at CASAs Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More In this undated photo provided by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, a man identified by Jennifer Vasquez Sura as her husband, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is led by force by guards through the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland via AP) In this undated photo provided by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, a man identified by Jennifer Vasquez Sura as her husband, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is led by force by guards through the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More McLaughlin did not comment on whether the administration would comply with the judges order or when and where Abrego Garcia might be returned to the U.S. But she said that he would be locked up and off Americas streets. MS-13 gang members murder, rape, and maim for sport, she said. Its shameful that the mainstream media chooses to do the bidding of these vicious gangs while ignoring their victims.Abrego Garcias attorneys have countered that there is no evidence he was in MS-13. The allegation is based on a confidential informants claim in 2019 that Abrego Garcia was a member of a chapter in New York, where he has never lived.Abrego Garcia had a permit from DHS to legally work in the U.S., his attorney said. He served as a sheet metal apprentice and was pursuing his journeyman license. This undated photo provided by Murray Osorio PLLC shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Murray Osorio PLLC via AP) This undated photo provided by Murray Osorio PLLC shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Murray Osorio PLLC via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More He fled El Salvador around 2011 because he and his family were facing threats by local gangs. In 2019, a U.S. immigration judge granted him protection from deportation to El Salvador. He was released and ICE did not appeal the decision or try to deport him to another country. Abrego Garcia later married Jennifer Vasquez Sura, a U.S. citizen. The couple are parents to their son and her two children from a previous relationship.The judges ruling on Friday came shortly after Vasquez Sura joined dozens of supporters at a rally in the city of Hyattsville to urge her husbands immediate return.Vasquez Sura, who hasnt spoken to her husband since his deportation, urged her supporters to keep fighting for him and all the Kilmars out there whose stories are still waiting to be heard.To all the wives, mothers, children who also face this cruel separation, I stand with you in this bond of pain, she said during the rally at a community center. Its a journey that no one ever should ever have to suffer, a nightmare that feels endless.___Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia. Associated Press reporters Rebecca Santana and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.