Fate of Abrego Garcia hangs in the balance as judge grills DOJ on removal order

Trump officials and a federal judge sparred over the legal basis of Abrego Garcia's case.

Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI and other national news. She previously covered national politics at the Washington Examiner and The Washington Post, with additional bylines in Politico Magazine, the Colorado Gazette and others. You can send tips to Breanne at Breanne.Deppisch@fox.com, or follow her on X at @breanne_dep.

Without that document, she said, Abrego Garcia is "at a minimum" entitled to certain immediate relief under Supreme Court precedent, just as the Justice Department is free to seek relief from higher courts. 

"You’ve raised all these arguments, and they all depend on me having a withholding of removal order," Xinis said Thursday.