The Trump administration has invoked the state secrets privilege in response to a federal judge’s demand for details about the improper deportation of Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis revealed the development in an order Wednesday, asking for a detailed legal briefing on the decision and how it might affect her intensive inquiry into the Trump administration’s handling of Abrego Garcia’s case.
State Secrets Privilege: A Legal Maneuver
It’s the second time in recent weeks that the Trump administration has invoked the state secrets privilege in order to frustrate judges’ demand for information about potential violations of court orders related to summary deportations.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Attorney General Pam Bondi endorsed the invocation of the state secrets privilege in March after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg demanded information about the timing of flights to El Salvador carrying migrants deported under a rarely used presidential war power.
Boasberg has not yet ruled whether he considers the privilege assertion to be valid, though he has expressed doubts. And judges, he noted, routinely review sensitive national security information in secure spaces, even if the materials remain sealed from public view.
Xinis, an Obama appointee, is asking the administration for detailed legal arguments on the matter by Monday and will hold a hearing in her Maryland courtroom next week on the issue. The discussion comes as lawyers for Abrego Garcia have been deposing Trump administration officials about the circumstances surrounding Abrego Garcia’s deportation.
