WASHINGTON – A federal judge agreed to give the Trump administration another week to answer detailed questions about the illegal deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

A day earlier, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued a scathing rebuke of the administration’s response to her order for more details about its efforts to return him to the U.S.

But the Trump administration asked for more time to respond in the case of the Maryland man who was deported to El Salvador last month in an “administrative error” despite court protections.

Despite the temporary reprieve, the standoff between the White House and the federal courts may still be heading for a reckoning. In a scathing order Tuesday evening, Judge Xinis accused the Justice Department of willful refusal to comply with her order and attempting to “obstruct” discovery after receiving what she characterized as vague and unsatisfying responses to her demand for information on efforts to return Abrego Garcia to the United States.

“Defendants have failed to respond in good faith, and their refusal to do so can only be viewed as willful and intentional noncompliance,” Xinis wrote.

“That ends now,” Judge Xinis declared as she rejected the administration’s arguments so far as “specious” and condemned their “mischaracterization” of the Supreme Court’s directive to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S.

In response, Justice Department lawyer Drew Ensign filed a sealed motion on Wednesday requesting a seven-day stay of the judge’s directive for the U.S. to provide testimony and documents.