A federal judge in Maryland on Monday pressed the Trump administration on its bid to quickly deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia, seeking the government's word that the once mistakenly deported man will not be removed from the country before she lifts an order blocking such a move.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis called a hearing Monday after Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers signaled in court filings last week that Abrego Garcia, a native of El Salvador, could be deported to the West African nation as soon as Friday.

"If I don't lift the injunction, then obviously you're abiding by it, and he's not going to be removed," Xinis said to the government. "Am I getting that right?"

"Of course, your honor," DOJ lawyer Drew Ensign replied.

Abrego Garcia's fight to remain in the U.S. has put him at the heart of President Trump's crackdown on immigration enforcement.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration wrongly sent Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, despite an immigration judge in 2019 having........

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