‘That is the exclusive power of the President’

Lawyers for the Trump administration argued that courts do not have the authority to compel the return of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador.

Attorneys for the Kilmar Abrego Garcia asked a federal court to force the administration to take steps to “ensure his safe passage to the aircraft that will return him to the United States,” further suggesting scheduling a contempt of court hearing.

But in a filing in federal court in Maryland, the Department of Justice (DOJ) disagreed.

“The federal courts have no authority to direct the Executive Branch to conduct foreign relations in a particular way, or engage with a foreign sovereign in a given manner,” Trump officials argued Sunday.

“That is the ‘exclusive power of the President as the sole organ of the federal government in the field of international relations,’” the DOJ lawyers added, citing the separation of powers that prevents the court from ruling on how the administration conducts foreign policy.

10/ Trump Administration is telling Judge point blank, you do not have the power to order President to do anything related to foreign relations, with a subtle dig about what SCOTUS cautioned her against. pic.twitter.com/5GGZBKc47c

— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) April 13, 2025

“The Court should therefore reject Plaintiffs’ request for further intrusive supervision of the Executive’s facilitation process beyond the daily status reports already ordered,” the filing stated.

The lawyers also said that they “object to the requirement of daily status reports and reserve the right to challenge that requirement further,” responding to U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis who ordered the White House to provide those wellness updates on Abrego Garcia who is currently being detained in El Salvador’s maximum security CECOT prison.

In a filing on Saturday, a senior bureau official at the State Department provided an update.

“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,” Michael Kozack wrote in the filing. “He is alive and secure in that facility. He is detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador.”

Last week, Xinis ordered the administration to “take all available steps to facilitate” the return of the Maryland man who was granted protected status by an immigration judge in 2019 after he fled El Salvador due to alleged gang violence.

Senior Staff Writer
[email protected]

Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

Latest posts by Frieda Powers (see all)

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.