Unsealed records in Abrego Garcia case offer few details that are new, unknown

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the unsealing of several court documents in the lawsuit over Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s deportation, rejecting the Trump administration’s arguments that it would risk national security.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland issued her order after media organizations, including The Associated Press, argued the public has a right to access court records under the First Amendment.

Filings unsealed so far offer little information that’s new or unknown publicly. Xinis described one document as “relatively boilerplate.” It was a request by the Trump administration to temporarily halt discovery, an early phase of a lawsuit where parties share evidence.

“It does not disclose any potentially privileged or otherwise sensitive information for which a compelling government interest outweighs the right to access,” Xinis wrote.

Xinis noted that some documents were public before the court was asked to seal them the next day. Those filings contained a back-and-forth between Abrego Garcia’s attorneys and the U.S. government over efforts to return him from El Salvador.

Trump administration lawyers often objected to answering questions, arguing that they involve state secrets, sensitive diplomatic negotiations and other protected information.

For example, the U.S. attorneys mentioned “appropriate diplomatic discussions with El Salvador.” But they wrote that disclosing the details ”could negatively impact any outcome.”

Xinis also ordered the partial release of a transcript from an April 30 court hearing. Some of it will be reacted to protect potentially classified information.

Wednesday’s ruling was unrelated to the Trump administration pending invocation of the state secrets privilege, a legal doctrine often used in military cases. The administration has argued that releasing information about the Abrego Garcia matter in open court — or even to the judge in private – could jeopardize national security.

Xinis is yet to rule on the state secrets claim.

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have argued that the Trump administration has done nothing to return the Maryland construction worker. They say the government is invoking the privilege to hide behind the misconduct of mistakenly deporting him and refusing to bring him back.

Abrego Garcia’s deportation violated a U.S. immigration judge’s order in 2019 that shielded Abrego Garcia from expulsion to his native country. The immigration judge determined that Abrego Garcia faced likely persecution by a local Salvadoran gang that terrorized his family.

Abrego Garcia’s American wife sued over his deportation. Xinis ordered his return on April 4. The Supreme Court ruled on April 10 that the administration must work to bring him back.

President Donald Trumptold ABC News in late April that he could retrieve Abrego Garcia with a phone call to El Salvador’s president. But Trump said he wouldn’t do it because Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, an allegation that Abrego Garcia denies and for which he was never charged.