The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration must move forward with facilitating the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador despite having court protection against removal. The court rejected an emergency appeal from the administration seeking to block a lower court’s order for his return.
Abrego Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador, held an immigration court order, granted in 2019, preventing his deportation due to fears he would face persecution from gangs in his native country. Despite this protection, he was deported on March 15, 2025, an action the administration later admitted in court filings was an “administrative error.”
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U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis had ordered the administration to return Abrego Garcia by midnight Monday, April 7. Chief Justice John Roberts issued a temporary stay on that order to allow the full court to consider the administration’s appeal.
In its decision Thursday, the Supreme Court lifted Roberts’ pause. However, it also directed Judge Xinis to clarify her order, specifically how the administration should “facilitate and effectuate” Abrego Garcia’s return.
The high court noted the administration should be prepared to inform the lower court about steps already taken and any further actions planned.
The case gained attention after the administration acknowledged the deportation mistake but simultaneously resisted bringing Abrego Garcia back. ICE Field Office Director Robert Cerna stated in court documents that the removal was an “oversight” carried out based on a final removal order and Abrego Garcia’s “purported membership in MS-13,” overlooking the protective order.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi publicly reinforced the administration’s stance earlier this week, stating Abrego Garcia should remain “where he is” despite the error. “He is a known gang member, ICE testified he was a gang member,” Bondi asserted, dismissing arguments that he was training as an electrician. “That’s what these gangs do, they infiltrate our country and they live among us… we will continue to fight for the safety of Americans and get these people out of our country.”
Abrego Garcia was apprehended by ICE agents in Baltimore while leaving work. He was subsequently sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center, a supermax prison, in El Salvador.
Critics, including several U.S. Senators who signed a letter demanding his return, highlighted that Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador in 2011 due to gang threats and recruitment attempts. They noted the MS-13 allegation stemmed from an “unfounded and anonymous” tip in 2019. “Your unwillingness to immediately rectify this ‘administrative error’ is unacceptable,” the senators wrote to the administration.
The Supreme Court’s ruling allows the process for Abrego Garcia’s return to proceed, pending clarification from the district court on the logistical requirements for the administration.
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