The US Supreme Court on Thursday said the Trump administration must facilitate the return of a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, rejecting the administration’s emergency appeal.
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.
US District Judge Paula Xinis had ordered Abrego Garcia, now being held in a notorious Salvadoran prison, returned to the United States by midnight Monday.
“The 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,” the court said in an unsigned order with no noted dissents.
Chief Justice John Roberts had already pushed back Xinis’ deadline, and the justices said that her order must now be clarified to make sure it does not 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 and get him back – and what more it could do.
