Maryland protesters voice anger over mistaken deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Maryland protesters raised their frustrations on Saturday as the federal government provided its first update on the condition and location of mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was ordered to be facilitated back to the United States.
A group rallied at the Tesla dealership in Owings Mills to raise their voices against Abrego Garcia's deportation, as well as Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
New court filings
On Saturday, a State Department official said U.S. leaders in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, reported that Abrego Garcia is being held in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), is alive and secure, and is detained under the authority of El Salvador.
The U.S. has sent more than 200 Venezuelan men accused of being in gangs to that same prison.
Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke about this to the press pool last week, defending the Trump Administration.
"We don't have to charge them with every crime. We can deport them and get them out of our country and save room in our prisons because they should have never been in our country to begin with," Bondi said.
In their motion filed Saturday evening, attorneys for Abrego Garcia said the court should order the government to request his release from El Salvador and fly him back to Maryland by Monday.
"We are not going to accept the government's generic and unsubstantiated assertions that they're working on this, that they're considering it, that they're debating it, that they're taking steps," said attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, who represents Abrego Garcia. "We are also going to be insisting that they provide specific, concrete details to the court."
Attorneys are now requesting documents, including the agreement between the U.S. and El Salvador to house deportees there. Abrego Garcia's legal team is also pushing the court to hold the government in contempt for failing to comply with previous orders.
Protests in Owings Mills
Protesters on Saturday at the Tesla dealership in Owings Mills believe the Trump administration is violating Abrego Garcia's human and constitutional rights. They said everyone deserves their day in court.
"Everybody is entitled to due process," said protester Stephanie. "If people are here illegally, they need to receive that due process before they are shipped off somewhere. When a government starts to target a specific group, it's only a matter of time before they'll target additional groups. We're seeing civil rights being eroded. We're seeing people be dehumanized, villainized, and it's not right."
The protest organizers say they will be out here every Saturday for the foreseeable future.
In early March, graffiti was found at an Owings Mills Tesla dealership in protest of Musk's push to cut government spending on behalf of President Donald Trump.
These demonstrations, such as the most recent nationwide 'Hands Off!' protests, are part of a growing backlash to Musk's role within the Trump administration.
Friday's legal battle
Judge Paula Xinis was stern at the Trump administration for failing to comply with her original order to return Abrego-Garcia.
"I'm not asking for state secrets," Xinis told a deputy attorney general at a tense hearing Friday. "…All I know is he's not here. The government was prohibited from sending him to El Salvador, and now I'm asking a simple question: Where is he?"
Xinis ordered the government to file daily status updates. She also found the government "failed to comply" with her prior order.
She was blunt and wrote:
"During the hearing, the Court posed straightforward questions, including: Where is Abrego Garcia right now? What steps had Defendants taken to facilitate his return while the Court's initial order on injunctive relief was in effect (from the afternoon of April 4, 2025, through the morning of April 7, 2025, and since 6:35 PM last night)?"
"Defendants' counsel responded that he could not answer these questions and at times suggested that Defendants had withheld such information from him. As a result, counsel could not confirm, and thus did not advance any evidence, that Defendants had done anything to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return. This remained the Defendants' position even after this Court reminded them that the Supreme Court of the United States expressly affirmed this Court's authority to require the Government to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return."
Abrego Garcia's case will be back in court on Tuesday.
