Court slams Trump, senator visits Ábrego García
The case 'should be shocking not only to judges' but all Americans with an 'intuitive sense of liberty'


What happened
A federal appeals court yesterday upheld U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis' efforts to compel the Trump administration to facilitate the return of wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Ábrigo García, criticizing the administration's conduct in the case as "shocking." Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said last night he had met with Ábrego García in El Salvador after two days of thwarted efforts.
Who said what
Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. 4th District Court of Appeals in Virginia, declined to "micromanage the efforts of a fine district judge attempting to implement the Supreme Court's recent decision" that the Trump administration actively work to extricate Ábrego García from El Salvador's infamous CECOT prison.
The government's assertion of "a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process" and then claim "there is nothing that can be done" about it "should be shocking not only to judges" but all Americans with an "intuitive sense of liberty," said Wilkinson, a Ronald Reagan appointee. "If the government is confident" in its unsubstantiated claim that "Ábrego García is a terrorist and a member of MS-13," it "should be assured that position will prevail" in a deportation hearing, he said. "Regardless, he is still entitled to due process."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Wilkinson is "one of the nation's most prominent conservative appellate judges," Politico said, and his opinion is the "latest — and most scorching — judicial rebuke" of Trump's "moves to sidestep court orders." Legal experts said his "unusually strong language for a simple procedural decision was aimed at a broader public audience," Reuters said.
What next?
"I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance," Van Hollen said on X, with a photo of the two talking in a San Salvador hotel. "I look forward to providing a full update upon my return." El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, echoing the Trump administration, said now that Ábrego García has "been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador's custody."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocrat
Feature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?
Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlock
Feature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Apple bows to Trump administration pressure over ICE tracking apps
In the Spotlight It’s the latest company to capitulate to Trump’s demands
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
‘This isn’t just semantics’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Miami Freedom Tower’s MAGA library squeeze
THE EXPLAINER Plans to place Donald Trump’s presidential library next to an iconic symbol of Florida’s Cuban immigrant community has South Florida divided
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal