The Supreme Court ordered the administration to 'facilitate' the return of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly taken to El Salvador and remains in custody there.
The wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Jennifer Vasquez Sura , listens during a news conference to discuss his husband's arrest and deportation on Capitol Hill on April 9.The Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to"facilitate" the return to the United States of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was mistakenly taken to El Salvador and remains in custody there.
The decision on Thursday was a rare win for those challenging the administration's deportation orders, but the court sent the case back to the district court judge to clarify one aspect of her decision"with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs."Since President Trump took office in January, a top priority has been to remove those he believes are a threat to Americans' safety. In this case, though, the administration initially admitted the deportation was a mistake. Abrego Garcia, an El Salvadoran citizen, has lived in Maryland for almost 15 years. While he initially entered the U.S. without being granted legal status, a federal judge in 2019 granted him protection from being deported, because of concerns for his safety if he were to return to El Salvador. The 2019 proceedings stemmed from uncorroborated allegations that Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang, which the Trump Administration has since designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization. But an immigration judge ultimately found that there was insufficient evidence to support the allegation and instead found that Abrego Garcia's life would be endangered if he returned to El Salvador.But in March, he was on his way home from work in Baltimore, with his five-year-old son in the backseat, when he was pulled over by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. They told him his legal"status had changed," and he was arrested on the spot, as his wife, an American citizen, raced to the site to prevent ICE agents from turning over the couple's child to Child Protective Services.A few days later, Abrego Garcia was placed on a flight with other men alleged by the Trump administration to be members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.Unlike the challengers in that case, Abrego Garcia was not removed using the Alien Enemies Act. Still, the court's ruling left open questions as to how deportees who have already been removed from the U.S., like Abrego Garcia, are supposed to challenge their deportations from outside the country. The administration has avoided answering judges' questions as to the number of individuals deported, how many planes have left the United States or the whereabouts of specific individuals. Abrego Garcia, along with the other deportees, is being detained in a Salvadoran mega-prison, but his wife has said she has not heard from him since he was removed from the U.S. In exchange for detaining the deportees in what one judge has called"one of the most dangerous prisons in the Western Hemisphere," the Salvadoran government is receiving $6 million from the U.S. government. Abrego Garcia, along with his wife and child, are contesting his removal from the U.S. The family argues that his deportation was unlawful given his protected status, which specifically barred him from being sent back to El Salvador without clearing some procedural hurdles first.Last Friday federal district court judge Paula Xinis ordered the administration to preserve the status quo by releasing Abrego Garcia from the Salvadoran prison and returning him to the U.S., and to do it no later than 11:59 PM the following Monday. When the administration asked the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to pause that order, a three-judge panel unanimously declined. Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, a Reagan appointee, had strong words for the administration. "There is no question that the government screwed up here," he wrote, adding that"the government here took the only action which was expressly prohibited." Regarding the government's admission of its mistake, Judge Wilkinson said"one would also expect the government to do what it can to rectify it. Most of us attempt to undo, to the extent that we can, the mistakes that we have made. But, to the best of my knowledge, the government has not made the attempt here." In an appeal to the Supreme Court, however, the administration said in its brief that the lawyer who admitted the error does not speak for the administration. In fact the lawyer was placed on leave after making the admission. And the administration continued to push the theory that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13, despite an immigration judge finding otherwise in 2019. Separate and apart from that, the government argued that because Abrego Garcia is now outside the U.S., the administration cannot force the government of El Salvador to take any action, let alone to release Abrego Garcia from prison. Finally, the government complained that its blunder didn't authorize Judge Xinis to"seize control over foreign relations, treat the Executive Branch as a subordinate diplomat, and demand that the United States let a member of a foreign terrorist organization into America."Thursday's ruling shows that there is no predicting what the Supreme Court might do next when it comes to the Trump administration.Nina Totenberg is NPR's award-winning legal affairs correspondent. Her reports air regularly on NPR's critically acclaimed newsmagazines All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition.Special Election: San Diego County’s Supervisor District 1 A big decision awaits some voters this April as the race for San Diego County’s Supervisor District 1 seat heats up. Are you ready to vote? Check out the KPBS Voter Hub to learn about the candidates, the key issues the board is facing and how you can make your voice heard.
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