In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Noem v. Abrego Garcia last night, discussed here, a United States District Court in Maryland promptly entered an order directing the government to “file, no later 9:30 AM ET, on Friday, April 11, 2025, a supplemental declaration from an individual with personal knowledge the following: (1) the current physical location and custodial status of Abrego Garcia; (2) what steps, if any, Defendants have taken to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s immediate return to the United States; and (3) what additional steps Defendants will take, and when, to facilitate his return."
The district court also scheduled an in-person status conference for today, Friday, April 11, 2025 at 1:00 PM ET. The government filed a motion for extension of time until 5:00 PM on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, arguing that it needed more time to review the Supreme Court’s four-page order. The court promptly entered an order largely rejecting the government’s request, but granting it until 11:30 AM ET today, April 11, 2025 to submit its supplemental declaration. The court reasoned:
First, the Defendants’ act of sending Abrego Garcia to El Salvador was wholly illegal from the moment it happened, and Defendants have been on notice of the same. Indeed, as the Supreme Court credits, “the United States acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was subject to a withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador, and that the removal to El Salvador was therefore illegal.” Second, the Defendants’ suggestion that they need time to meaningfully review a four-page Order that reaffirms this basic principle blinks at reality. Third, the Defendants misconstrue the Supreme Court’s Order stating that the original deadline … is “no longer effective,” as somehow suggesting that the Court’s amended Order requiring prompt attention to this matter is “inconsistent” with the Supreme Court’s directive. Nothing could be further from the truth. As the Supreme Court plainly stated, “the Government should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps,” —all against the backdrop of this Court’s needing to “ensure that the Government lives up to its obligations to follow the law.”
Citations omitted. The government defied the court’s order to file a supplemental declaration, and instead filed a response claiming it was unable to provide the information requested on an “impracticable deadline.” During the the hearing held earlier today, the government “repeatedly stonewalled [the district court’s] efforts to get even the most basic information about [Abrego Garcia],” according to news reports here. At the end of the hearing, the district court ordered the government to provide daily updates about its progress toward returning Abrego Garcia to the United States.