The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to lift a lower court’s order mandating the return of a man who was accidentally deported to El Salvador.
The White House filed an emergency motion with the court after U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the administration to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who had been sent to El Salvador despite another judge’s order shielding him from deportation.
From The Washington Post:
Abrego García has been detained at a mega-prison in El Salvador since U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported him last month, despite a court order forbidding it because he had fled death threats from gang members in his home country.
Trump officials have argued that they have no power to return Abrego García because he is now in the custody of El Salvador.
Xinis forcefully pushed back on that assertion Sunday, writing that the federal government does have the authority to return Abrego García and that Trump officials have offered “no evidence” he was a gang member. The judge noted that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem recently visited the Salvadoran prison and met with President Nayib Bukele and other officials, saying the jail remained a tool for U.S. immigration enforcement.
The administration appealed Xinis’s order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which on Monday declined to intervene immediately and stay the lower court ruling.
Judge Xinis’ ruling requires the administration return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. by the end of the day on Monday.
The Trump administration claims Abrego-Garcia was a member of the MS-13 international street gang. Immigration authorities detained him in 2019. He had illegally entered the country at 16 years old in 2012.
After telling a judge he was afraid of being targeted by gangs back in El Salvador, the judge issued a “withholding of removal,” which did not necessarily grant him legal status, but prevented him from being deported. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not challenge the ruling nor did the agency later try to have it rescinded.
Trump admin admits it should not have deported Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, but tells SCOTUS no court can require his return b/c it would intrude on Article II powers to conduct foreign negotiations.
— Greg Sargent (@GregTSargent) April 7, 2025
If this stands, why can't Trump deport anyone "in error" and not have to undo? pic.twitter.com/YcSHoTrhbH
The authorities initially believed Abrego Garcia to be a part of the MS-13 gang because of the testimony of a confidential informant who claimed he was involved in the gang’s activities in New York.
Investigators also cited his clothing and attire as evidence that he belonged to the gang – he often wore a Chicago Bulls jersey, which some gang members also wear. There is no evidence Abrego Garcia had ever been to New York. The Trump administration has not provided any further evidence linking him to the gang so far.
Attorney General Pam Bondi recently placed a government immigration lawyer on administrative leave after he expressed frustration about how Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported.
Erez Reuveni argued on behalf of the Justice Department during Friday’s hearing in the Abrego Garcia case.
— Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) April 5, 2025
Reuveni has reportedly been placed on leave.
Here’s one exchange with the judge that may have contributed to his ouster: https://t.co/gzphh1sMQ8 pic.twitter.com/AkopJ5UiHy
Abrego Garcia’s story is the latest in the controversy over President Trump’s deportation efforts. Several other lawsuits have been filed against the administration over its policy of sending Venezuelan illegals to be housed in a maximum security prison in El Salvador.
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