STATE SECRETS?! Trump Admin Invokes Privilege to Hide Efforts (or Lack Thereof) on Wrongfully Deported Man

Alright folks, remember Kilmar Abrego Garcia? The Maryland father the US government admits it illegally deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador, violating a judge's order? The man the Supreme Court ordered the administration to "facilitate" the return of? The man whose wife was reportedly doxxed by DHS and forced into hiding? Yeah, that guy.

Well, the legal battle to get answers and bring him home continues, and the Trump administration just deployed its most audacious legal shield yet: the state secrets privilege.

According to reports today, Thursday, May 8th, the administration is formally invoking this powerful, rarely used legal doctrine in federal court. What does that mean? It means they are essentially telling U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis that they cannot answer her questions or provide documents about what steps, if any, they have taken to comply with her (and the Supreme Court's) order to facilitate Mr. Abrego Garcia's return because doing so would harm U.S. national security.

Let's pause and absorb the sheer WTF-ness of that claim. The government admits it made an "administrative error" and illegally deported this man. The highest court in the land told them to help get him back. A federal judge is demanding to know what they're doing about it. And the administration's response is: "Sorry, Judge, telling you if we're following your lawful order is a state secret!"

This is the same administration that publicly smeared Mr. Abrego Garcia, whose @WhiteHouse account falsely labeled him "MS-13," and whose top officials have openly defied court orders related to deportations. Now, they want us to believe that discussing their efforts (or, more likely, lack thereof) to rectify their own admitted mistake poses a grave threat to national security? It beggars belief.

Lawyers for Mr. Abrego Garcia stated in a court filing yesterday that after deposing three government officials (which the court allowed despite government resistance), they are "still in the dark" about any actual efforts being made to free him. Now, the administration wants to shut down further inquiry entirely by hiding behind the formidable wall of state secrets.

This isn't the first time the administration has invoked state secrets in controversial contexts, but using it here – in a case involving a clear government error and a direct Supreme Court order – feels particularly egregious. It looks less like a legitimate national security concern and more like a desperate attempt to avoid accountability and transparency, potentially covering up their continued defiance or simple inaction.

Judge Xinis has set a hearing for May 16th to address this claim. But the administration invoking state secrets in this specific case, after everything that has already happened, is a brazen move. It's using a tool meant for protecting genuine classified intelligence to potentially shield itself from judicial oversight regarding its failure to correct an admitted, illegal deportation. It's a legal maneuver that reeks of bad faith and further erodes any confidence in the administration's respect for the rule of law. And it is, without question, today's Daily Dose of WTF.

Sources:

• ClickOnDetroit / AP News. "Trump administration invokes state secrets privilege in Kilmar Abrego Garcia's case." May 8, 2025.