BURSTA group of 14 news organizations on Tuesday asked the federal court overseeing Kilmar Abrego Garcia's case to unseal the court records about the Maryland man's possible return to the United States.
The media outlets made the request as filings about Abrego Garcia’s detention in a Salvadoran prison have been increasingly closed to the public, The Washington Post reported. The Post is one of the outlets seeing the unsealing of records.
Abrego Garcia was deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador in March and his case has gained national attention, becoming a flashpoint in American politics.
Democrats have demanded that Abrego Garcia be returned to the U.S. after the Trump administration admitted to mistakenly deporting him.
The Supreme Court has ordered the administration to “facilitate” his return, but Trump administration officials say the responsibility is on El Salvador for Abrego Garcia’s return.
President Trump in interviews has said he could get Abrego Garcia returned to the U.S., while indicating he will not do so because he believes Abrego Garcia, who entered the U.S. illegally, is a danger to the public.
Abrego Garcia does not have a history of violent crime. He was arrested in 2019, apparently for loitering, and a request for asylum was turned down as the government at the time argued he was a part of MS-13. Abrego Garcia's family has steadily denied that claim.
Abrego Garcia married his wife, a U.S. citizen, and another judge awarded him “withholding of removal” — barring his deportation to El Salvador. Immigration prosecutors under the first Trump administration did not appeal this ruling.
The battle has highlighted the executive branch’s struggle with judicial power as the case plays out in the courts.
“The eyes of the public and all three branches of government are on this lawsuit,” the group of news organizations said in a motion on Tuesday.
The motion noted that within weeks of Abrego Garcia’s deportation, the case came before the Supreme Court and twice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, both of which affirmed a previous order from District Judge Paula Xinis that states the administration needed to facilitate his release from custody.
The outlets said the case raises questions about separation of powers, civil liberties and foreign relations, the Post reported.
“Such a case requires maximum transparency” so the public can participate as a check upon the government, the motion said.
Court filings were sealed after Xinis granted the administration a pause in the case. There was speculation the administration would change course on the situation, but after the pause was lifted last week, Abrego Garcia remains in El Salvador.
The Post was joined by 13 other news organizations or their parent companies, including The Wall Street Journal, ABC News, The Associated Press, Bloomberg, CNN, CBS Broadcasting, Fox News Network, NPR, NBCUniversal News Group, the New York Times Company, the New Yorker, the New York Post and Reuters.
Xinis has ordered four Trump administration officials to sit for depositions, scheduled for the coming days, and share documents about Abrego Garcia’s deportation. She argued the administration is acting in “bad faith” in the Maryland man’s case.