The federal judge overseeing the case of an illegal alien and alleged MS-13 gang member who was erroneously deported from Maryland to a prison in his home nation of El Salvador, despite a prior court order barring exactly that, has lost any semblence of patience she once had with the Trump administration.

The Justice Department now stands accused of defying deadlines and orders from not just the district court judge but also the Supreme Court to return the deported migrant to the U.S., according to Newsweek.

Yet, per the DOJ's attorney in the case, the government has not been defiant but rather was simply unable to comply with the "impracticable deadlines" and demands for information issued by the judge.

The case of the erroneous deportation

It was in mid-March that the Trump administration, in what it later acknowledged was an "administrative error," deported illegal alien and Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, even though a 2019 court order explicitly protected the Salvadoran national from being deported to his home nation for fear of persecution and gang violence.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, an Obama appointee, ordered the administration to swiftly retrieve and return Garcia to the U.S., but that order was briefly placed on hold by the Supreme Court while the administration's appeal was considered.

Thursday evening, however, according to SCOTUSblog, saw the release of an unsigned order from the high court that largely upheld the district court's ruling and, while the lower court judge was instructed to "clarify" her orders, the administration was likewise directed to comply with the order to return the inadvertently deported Garcia.

Of particular note in the Supreme Court's ruling was the directive for Xinis to show the proper "deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs," while at the same time for the administration to "be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken" to "facilitate" and "effectuate" Garcia's return.

Judge loses her temper with DOJ attorney

During a Friday hearing just hours after the Supreme Court's ruling was issued, according to The Hill, a "visibly frustrated" Judge Xinis grilled Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign for an update on the status of the administration's efforts to retrieve and return Garcia to the U.S. from a Salvadoran prison, and snarkily quipped in response to Ensign's inability to answer her questions, "Ok, so they’ve done nothing."

"Is anybody moving with any sort of speed on this to get to the bottom of this, so I can get an answer," Xinis exclaimed at one point while banging on her desk. "I don’t mean to be flippant. I’m not sure what to take from the fact that the Supreme Court has spoken quite clearly, and yet I can’t get an answer today about anything you’ve done in the past."

Ensign pleaded with the court for more time for the administration to both review the Supreme Court's order as well as to coordinate "a lot of different inter-agency process that attend to these things" between multiple Cabinet-level departments.

"We’re not going to slow-walk this. You will have a fair opportunity to be heard, but we are not relitigating what the Supreme Court has put to bed," Xinis declared as she further ordered the DOJ to provide her with detailed daily updates on what was being done to get Garcia out of the Salvadoran prison and back to the U.S.

Judge not accepting any excuses or explanations

According to The Washington Post, Judge Xinis had set an initial deadline of 9:30 am for the Trump DOJ to meet her demands for information, but when the DOJ asked for an extension until next Tuesday, the judge granted only an additional two hours on Friday.

The DOJ attorney attempted to explain that the judge's deadlines were "impracticable," given that it was easier said than done to arrange for the release of the Salvadoran national from Salvadoran custody.

The judge refused to accept that, though, and as noted, ordered the DOJ to provide her with daily progress reports on the status of Garcia's return ahead of a hearing scheduled for Tuesday.