US SC asks Trump govt to bring back man wrongly deported to El Salvador

The US Supreme Court on Friday ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to assist in bringing Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident, back to the US after he was wrongly deported to a prison in El Salvador last month, according to a Politico report.

 

This comes after US President Donald Trump on Monday asked the Supreme Court to temporarily pause a judge’s order directing his administration to return Abrego Garcia. Officials of the Trump administration acknowledged that Abrego Garcia’s deportation to the notorious El Salvador prison was an “administrative error.”

 

The Supreme Court, in its ruling, noted: “The judge’s order properly requires the government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s 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.”

 

Here’s what happened

 

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran migrant who has been residing in the US legally with a work permit since 2019. On March 12, he was detained by officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and questioned about his suspected gang affiliations. On March 15, he was deported on one of the flights carrying deportees to El Salvador.

 

Following his deportation, Abrego Garcia’s family filed a lawsuit seeking his return. On April 4, US District Judge Paula Xinis directed the US government to facilitate his return to the US by April 7. The judge found that the US government had no authority to detain and deport Abrego Garcia.

 

While the Trump administration accepted that Abrego Garcia was deported erroneously, it claimed it was powerless to force El Salvador to facilitate his return.

 

In 2019, the Salvadoran migrant received a judgement from the US allowing him to stay and granting him protection on the grounds that he would face persecution from gangs in his home country.

 

The judgement comes days after the justices noted that the Trump administration must provide due process to foreign nationals Trump has sought to deport quickly by invoking the rare wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act.

 

The Supreme Court’s decision also states that individuals who argue they were deported illegally from the US can continue to seek remedies from US courts.

 

In a similar ruling passed on April 7, the justices held that in future, if the Trump administration deports Venezuelan nationals on the grounds that they are alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang, it must give them a chance to challenge these allegations.