Earlier this month, Xinis ordered the administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia's return. That decision was affirmed by the Supreme Court, although the justices said her order needed to be clarified to make sure it did not intrude upon executive branch power over foreign affairs.

A day after a judge ordered the DOJ to more fully address the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the administration has asked to pause discovery in the case.

The government’s latest stubborn stance in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia litigation is (among other things) genuinely mystifying.