US Supreme Court says Trump administration must work to bring back mistakenly deported Maryland man
The Supreme Court on Thursday said the Trump administration must work to bring back a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to prison in El Salvador, rejecting the administration鈥檚 emergency appeal.
Related video above: Deported man's family speaks out: 'We're not going to give up hope'
The court acted in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who had an immigration court order preventing his deportation to his native country over fears he would face persecution from local gangs.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis had ordered Abrego Garcia returned to the United States by midnight Monday.
鈥淭he order properly requires the Government to 鈥榝acilitate鈥� Abrego Garcia鈥檚 release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,鈥� the court said in an unsigned order with no noted dissents.
It comes after a string of rulings on the court's emergency docket where the conservative majority has at least partially sided with Trump amid a wave of lower court orders slowing the president's sweeping agenda.
In Thursday's case, Chief Justice John Roberts had already pushed back Xinis' deadline. The justices also said that her order must now be clarified to make sure it doesn鈥檛 intrude into executive branch power over foreign affairs, since Abrego Garcia is being held abroad. The court said the Trump administration should also be prepared to share what steps it has taken to try to get him back 鈥� and what more it could potentially do.
The administration claims Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, though he has never been charged with or convicted of a crime. His attorneys said there is no evidence he was in MS-13.
The administration has conceded that it made a mistake in sending him to El Salvador, but argued that it no longer could do anything about it.
Video below: Inside El Salvador prison holding deportees
The court鈥檚 liberal justices said the administration should have hastened to correct 鈥渋ts egregious error鈥� and was 鈥減lainly wrong鈥� to suggest it could not bring him home.
鈥淭he Government鈥檚 argument, moreover, implies that it could deport and incarcerate any person, including U. S. citizens, without legal consequence, so long as it does so before a court can intervene,鈥� Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, joined by her two colleagues.
Abrego Garcia's wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, said the ordeal has been an 鈥渆motional rollercoaster鈥� for their family and the entire community.
鈥淚 am anxiously waiting for Kilmar to be here in my arms, and in our home putting our children to bed, knowing this nightmare is almost at its end. I will continue fighting until my husband is home,鈥� she said.
One of his lawyers, Simon Sandoval-Moshenburg, said 鈥渢onight, the rule of law prevailed," and he encouraged the government to "stop wasting time and get moving.鈥�
In the district court, Xinis wrote that the decision to arrest Abrego Garcia and send him to El Salvador appears to be 鈥渨holly lawless.鈥� There is little to no evidence to support a 鈥渧ague, uncorroborated鈥� allegation that was once in the MS-13 street gang, Xinis wrote.
was detained by immigration agents and deported last month.
He had a permit from the Homeland Security Department to legally work in the U.S. and was a sheet metal apprentice pursuing a journeyman license, his attorney said. His wife is a U.S. citizen.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant DHS secretary for public affairs, said Thursday that the justices' order for clarification from the lower court was a win for the administration. 鈥淲e look forward to continuing to advance our position in this case,鈥� she said.
A Justice Department spokesman said the court had 鈥渄irectly noted the deference owed to the Executive Branch鈥� in foreign affairs.
An immigration judge had previously barred the U.S. from deporting Abrego Garcia to El Salvador in 2019, finding that he faced likely persecution by local gangs.
A Justice Department lawyer conceded in a court hearing that Abrego Garcia should not have been deported. Attorney General Pam Bondi later removed the lawyer, Erez Reuveni, from the case and placed him on leave.