GREENBELT, Md.—The Trump administration is setting up the biggest test yet of judges’ authority to rein in its actions, as it skirts court orders that it facilitate the return of a migrant deported in error to a Salvadoran maximum-security prison.

Tensions escalated Tuesday in a federal court hearing in Greenbelt, Md., where a federal judge expressed frustration at how little had been done to help bring back the migrant, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, despite a series of orders—including from the Supreme Court—to facilitate his return.