The Trump administration has formally invoked the state secrets privilege in a contentious legal fight over the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, according to multiple court filings, reported CBS News.US district Judge Paula Xinis disclosed the invocation in a new order, calling on both the government and Abrego Garcia’s legal team to submit legal briefs by Monday explaining the basis for invoking the state secrets and deliberative process privileges. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for May 16 in Greenbelt, Maryland.As reported by CBS News, the justice department had previously signalled its intent to shield documents using attorney-client privilege, executive privilege, and the state secrets privilege. Judge Xinis has demanded that each claim be justified in detail before she determines their validity. This latest assertion comes amid a heated discovery process, with Xinis earlier accusing the administration of a “willful and bad faith refusal to comply” with court orders.The case stems from the erroneous deportation of Abrego Garcia in March, despite a 2019 legal order protecting him from removal due to threats from gangs in El Salvador. Trump administration has claimed Abrego Garcia is affiliated with MS-13, based largely on allegations from a confidential informant. His lawyers strongly deny these claims, asserting that he has never been charged or convicted of any crimes in any country.The Supreme Court had ruled that the administration must facilitate his return to the US and handle his case as if the deportation had never happened. However, the administration has pushed back, arguing it lacks jurisdiction and claiming that Abrego Garcia’s release now depends on El Salvador.Xinis had initially granted expedited discovery, allowing depositions of four top officials from the homeland security and state departments. However, after sealed filings were submitted, she temporarily paused the process, only to lift the stay days later. Some of the records the court had demanded were never turned over.The administration’s use of the state secrets privilege marks the second time it has deployed the measure in recent weeks in deportation-related litigation. According to Politico, the privilege was also used in a separate case before US district judge James Boasberg regarding deportations to El Salvador conducted under a little-used presidential war power.Judge Xinis has also agreed to hear arguments later this month on a motion by news organisations seeking to unseal the court documents submitted under seal, with a deadline for briefing set for May 27.As of April 21, Abrego Garcia had been transferred from El Salvador’s controversial Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) to a lower-security facility in Santa Ana, according to a state department declaration. The Trump administration continues to insist it is unable to facilitate his return, despite the Supreme Court’s directive.In her latest order, Xinis made clear that she expects complete legal and factual justifications from the administration for its privilege claims, as the court moves closer to resolving the dispute over whether classified or privileged information can be withheld in a case involving what federal authorities themselves called an “administrative error.”
