Trump admin live updates: Dems react to Hegseth discussing Yemen strike in 2nd chat

The Trump administration filed a motion with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday asking the appellate court to stay the injunction and discovery orders issued by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

The court has also asked Xinis to stay her own rulings while the appellate court considers the issues.

The government contends that Xinis' amended preliminary injunction order, which she issued shortly after the Supreme Court weighed in, to facilitate Abrego Garcia's release from a prison in El Salvador "has set down the same unjustifiable path" of her first injunction.

This is the second time the Department of Justice has appealed Xinis' orders. This time, it is arguing that Xinis' post-Supreme Court injunction is unconstitutional and goes beyond what the high court authorized in its order, again focusing on competing interpretations of what it means to facilitate his release.

-ABC News' James Hill

The United States' top diplomats were in Paris on Thursday for discussions aimed at ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff are expected to talk "with European counterparts to advance President Trump's goal to end the Russia-Ukraine war and stop the bloodshed," a spokesperson for Rubio said.

"While in Paris, [Rubio] will also discuss ways to advance shared interests in the region," the spokesperson said.

Amid the ongoing freeze in federal funding to Harvard University, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Wednesday the cancellation of two Department of Homeland Security grants to the university totaling over $2.7 million.

Noem is also demanding detailed records on Harvard’s foreign student visa holders’ "illegal and violent activities" by April 30, or the university will face "immediate loss" of Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, she announced.

The department's action follows the Trump administration's decision on Monday to freeze $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard University, "proposing the revocation of its tax-exempt status over its radical ideology," Noem said.

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, standing in front of a backdrop of palm trees, posted a video to social media with an update on his trip to El Salvador on Wednesday.

The Democratic lawmaker hopes to get answers about the wrongful deportation of a Maryland migrant, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, by the Trump administration.

Van Hollen said he's had "back-to-back meetings" in the country -- with members of the American Embassy and human rights groups. He also mentioned again his meeting with the vice president of El Salvador.

"And the entire purpose has been to bring Abrego Garcia home," the senator said.

Van Hollen also said that he called the government of El Salvador to provide evidence that Abrego Garcia was involved in MS-13 -- they could not.

"They said they had no evidence," he claimed.

"So this is not about MS-13. I know President Trump wants to make this about gang violence. I have been fighting MS-13, probably longer than Donald Trump even knew about MS- 13. I care about every victim of crime. That's why we have a court system to hold people accountable when they commit crimes, to make sure they get the punishment they deserve," Van Hollen said.

-ABC News' Isabella Murray