HERE WE GO: Latest hearing in Kilmar Abrego Garcia's case is underway with Judge Xinis on the bench.

XINIS says she intends to do as much of this in open court as possible, despite discussion of privileged materials. they can use the husher/phones if they need to reference confidential info, she notes.

XINIS signals frustration with the Justice Department for not making available officials with firsthand knowledge of Abrego Garcia's status and efforts to facilitate his return, despite her order. She notes the depositions were crammed with "I don't knows" from the witnesses.

NEW: Federal judges across the country are increasingly warning of a due process crisis caused by President Donald Trump’s deportation blitz.

Their message: If we eliminate due process for the ‘least’ of us, Americans could be next.

politico.com/news/2025/05/1…

The judges’ message has sharpened amid Trump’s increasingly aggressive effort to short-circuit due process for those he deems. And it’s coming from judges appointed by presidents of both parties — including Trump himself.

politico.com/news/2025/05/1…

Trump has questioned whether he owes a constitutional right of due process to those he deems gang members or terrorists. His aides say they’re following the constitution and that Trump’s electoral mandate to carry out mass deportation should win the day. politico.com/news/2025/05/1…

HAPPENING NOW: Judge Boasberg is pressing DOJ about Trump's comment that he could pick up the phone and have El Salvador send back Abrego Garcia. Doesn't that mean U.S. effectively has custody over deported migrants, he's asking?

DOJ LAWYER ABISHEK KAMBLI:
“That goes toward the president’s belief about the influence that he has.”

"Influence does not equate to constructive custody."

JEB: “Is the United States paying El Salvador to house these migrants?”

KAMBLI: “There is no agreement or arrangement whereby the United States maintains any agency or control over these prisoners.”

JEB: But there’s a formal notice of a $4.76 million grant to El Salvador dated March 22

KAMBLI: There were grants that were made to El Salvador for law enforcement and anti-crime purposes that can be used.

MORE: Boasberg pins down DOJ lawyer on whether the Supreme Court upheld Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act (it didn't) as Trump and his aides falsely claimed.

JEB: "The Supreme Court did not decide one way or the other about the validity," he notes.

KAMBLI, reluctantly agreeing, says "It did have that line that ... they did not analyze that precise issue."

In late night filing, Trump administration advances new legal arguments re: Alien Enemies Act.

1) U.S. has no “enforceable” agreement with El Salvador to retain custody over deported migrants. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

2) “Vague” statements by U.S. officials about paying El Salvador for detention of deportees are not enough. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

3) 24 hours is more than adequate notice to satisfy due process requirements for AEA deportations

4) Trump’s public statements shouldn’t be treated as official justifications for the administration’s AEA policies.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

BREAKING: A judge has ordered the immediate release of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia student detained amid Trump administration crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists.

@liz_crampton was in the Vermont courthouse where the decision just came down.

Details TK

He's already out 📸: @liz_crampton

https://x.com/liz_crampton/status/1917591333948084308

@liz_crampton NEW: Columbia pro-Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi walked out of court today after a judge ordered his immediate release from ICE detention. His words to Trump: "I am not afraid of you."

w/ @liz_crampton

politico.com/news/2025/04/3…

NEWS: After canceling thousands of foreign students' immigration records — threatening their ability to study and live in the US — the Trump administration has reversed course and restored them all.

It follows intense pushback from courts across the country.

Details TK

ICE had terminated the records of thousands of students from a federal database called SEVIS that tracks their legal status in the country. The effect of those terminations was in dispute, but many students said they had been barred from continuing their studies and were at risk of deportation.

The reason ICE appeared to have canceled their SEVIS records? Minor legal infractions that showed up in criminal history searches — which the law explicitly says is not a basis to deny a foreign student, studying on an F1 visa, their legal status.

Now, after dozens of judges across the country flagged the likely illegality, ICE says it won't do that anymore. politico.com/news/2025/04/2…

By my count, there had been 103 lawsuits filed in the last 20 days, and judges had issued 50 restraining orders requiring the Trump administration to reverse the SEVIS terminations. Those decisions came in more than 23 states and from judges appointed by several presidents, including Trump. politico.com/news/2025/04/2…