Maryland Gov. Wes Moore addresses Rachel Morin, Kilmar Abrego Garcia cases
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Wednesday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the Trump administration admitted was deported to El Salvador by mistake, is entitled to a court hearing.
"This is a case about due process, and it's a case about, are we going to follow the Constitution or not?" Moore said. "Are we going to bring him back to make sure he stands trial and has a judge determine whether or not a law was broken, and if a law was broken, then make sure there is accountability? But I believe in due process, and I believe in the Constitution."
The governor said he has no plans to visit El Salvador as Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen did last week.
Moore also addressed criticism from the Trump administration that Maryland Democrats have paid more attention to the Abrego Garcia case than that of Rachel Morin, the Harford County mother killed in 2023 by a Salvadoran national illegally in the United States.
"My heart continues to break for Patty Morin, and I said that to her when I spoke to her. It's the same way that my heart continues to break for all families of violent crime," Moore said.
Border czar on "due process" for Abrego Garcia
Trump administration Border Czar Tom Homan disagrees that Abrego Garcia did not receive due process, even though the government admitted in court that his deportation was a mistake.
"He's home. He's a citizen of El Salvador, a native of El Salvador who had due process, despite what you're hearing, been ordered removed by two separate immigration judges," Homan said. "The best that could happen for him if he actually came back to the United States, he would be detained and removed again."
While Abrego Garcia entered the United States illegally as a teenager, a judge's 2019 order prevented his removal to El Salvador.
Judge demands answers about return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
A federal judge in Maryland, Paula Xinis, ordered the Trump administration to stop stonewalling Abrego Garcia's lawyers and answer their questions about why Abrego Garcia was detained and what steps the United States is taking to bring him back.
Judge Xinis agreed to give the government until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30, to respond.
The judge wrote in a Tuesday order, "For weeks, defendants have sought refuge behind vague and unsubstantiated assertions of privilege, using them as a shield to obstruct discovery and evade compliance with this court's orders."
The Trump administration did not file any new information about the case by the initial April 23 deadline set by Judge Xinis.
On Wednesday morning, the government asked for seven more days to provide information, in a motion filed under seal and opposed by Abrego Garcia's lawyers.
Abrego Garcia's alleged ties to MS-13
The Trump administration has accused Abrego Garcia of being a member of the violent MS-13 gang, but Judge Xinis found they have not provided any concrete evidence of gang involvement.
Those allegations stem from an informant after Abrego Garcia's detention six years ago in Hyattsville, Maryland.
In a new statement released this week, Hyattsville police wrote, "During the encounter, the detective recognized one of the men as a known member of MS-13. This individual was not Abrego Garcia. After a search, 28 grams of suspected marijuana were recovered from Abrego Garcia. That suspected marijuana was seized, but HPD did not file any criminal charges. At no time did any member of the HPD identify or file any reports classifying Abrego Garcia as a member of any gang."
You can read the full police statement here.
