Last month, the Trump administration inadvertently sent an illegal alien and alleged foreign gang member from Maryland to be imprisoned in his home nation of El Salvador, despite a 2019 court order that protected him from deportation.

Now, a federal judge has decried that expulsion as "an illegal act" and ordered the U.S. government to swiftly retrieve the erroneously deported man from the Salvadoran prison and return him to Maryland, Newsmax reported.

Yet, even though the administration has admitted that the deportation was a mistake, there is a legitimate question about whether the federal judge has the authority to order the man's return, and the ruling has been appealed.

Illegal alien with protective court order mistakenly deported

USA Today reported that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, an illegal alien from El Salvador who was in the U.S. for more than a decade, was deported last month along with hundreds of other criminal illegal aliens and gang members to El Salvador, where they were subsequently incarcerated in that country's notorious anti-terrorism prison facility.

Amid the broader outcry from Democrats and the media against that move were specific complaints from Garcia's family and attorneys that, despite allegations of his membership in MS-13, Garcia had no affiliation with any gang and there was no credible evidence suggesting otherwise, save for a prior claim from an anonymous informant.

Ironically, Garcia had been explicitly protected in a 2019 court order from being deported to El Salvador because of a credible fear of persecution, given his family had fled their home nation when he was a teenager to specifically avoid extortionary demands from a local gang.

Judge orders swift return of erroneously deported illegal alien

According to Politico, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, an Obama appointee, ruled on Friday that the Trump administration had until the end of Monday to retrieve Garcia from the Salvadoran prison and return him to the U.S.

"This was an illegal act," the judge told Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni of Garcia's deportation without due process, despite the 2019 court order. "Congress said you can’t do it, and you did it anyway."

Of the prior anonymous claim that Garcia was a member of MS-13, Xinis said, "That’s just chatter, in my view. I haven’t been given any evidence," and further noted, "In a court of law, when someone is accused of membership in such a violent and predatory organization, it comes in the form of an indictment, a complaint, a criminal proceeding that has robust process so we can assess the facts. I haven’t heard that from the government."

Administration says judge lacks authority to order return

Interestingly enough, per Politico, DOJ attorney Reuveni seemed to share the judge's frustration at the lack of evidence produced by the administration to support the allegations against Garcia, though he did argue that none of that may matter as the judge lacked the jurisdictional authority to order Garcia's retrieval and return.

Indeed, before Judge Xinis issued her order, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was adamant that Garcia was a member of MS-13 and "will not be returning to our country." After the judge's order, she elevated that defiance when she snarked that Xinis should contact Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele herself to arrange the release since "we are unaware of the judge having jurisdiction or authority over the country of El Salvador."

For her part, the judge was dismissive of the jurisdictional argument raised by Reuveni, who suggested it was a matter for the immigration courts or State Department diplomacy, and countered that, because the administration had worked out a financial arrangement with El Salvador to house deported criminal illegal aliens in its prison, surely separate arrangements could be made to retrieve somebody who was mistakenly sent there.

Order was immediately appealed

Politico reported that the DOJ wasted no time in filing an emergency appeal of Judge Xinis' order with the 4th Circuit Court.

Whether the administration continues to fight this judicial order despite its acknowledgment that the deportation of Garcia was erroneous -- perhaps to avoid a precedent that could be applied to other challenged deportations -- or ultimately complies with Garcia's retrieval and return is something that has yet to be determined.