Washington — On Monday, the Trump administration requested the Supreme Court to step in regarding a legal dispute involving a Maryland resident who was wrongfully arrested and deported to El Salvador last month.
The Justice Department’s plea for urgent relief from the Supreme Court arises as it faces a court-imposed deadline of 11:59 p.m. to reinstate Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to the U.S. Abrego Garcia was sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador on March 15, despite a protective order from 2019 that should have barred his removal.
The Trump administration is urging the Supreme Court to overturn this district court ruling, arguing that it “places the United States in a difficult position” as it cannot compel El Salvador to “adhere to a federal judge’s orders.”
“The Constitution assigns the president, not federal district courts, the responsibility for conducting foreign diplomacy and safeguarding the nation against foreign threats, including executing their removal,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer stated in a court filing.
The controversy surrounding Abrego Garcia’s deportation has garnered significant attention and backlash following the Trump administration’s admission in a court filing last week that his deportation was an “administrative error” and “oversight.” The 29-year-old father was sent back to the U.S. via a series of flights carrying hundreds to the infamous Salvadoran prison known as CECOT.
These flights are at the heart of another high-profile legal case involving President Trump’s attempts to apply the wartime Alien Enemies Act to expel alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador. The Supreme Court is presently deliberating on another request from the Justice Department to resume such deportations using this rarely invoked authority.
Abrego Garcia, originally from El Salvador, entered the U.S. illegally in 2011 when he was 16, as per court records. In 2019, he was detained alongside three other individuals in Maryland by federal immigration authorities while his case was under examination by an immigration judge.
During a bond hearing, the Department of Homeland Security presented evidence asserting that a “reliable source” had confirmed Abrego Garcia’s connections to the MS-13 gang. The immigration judge denied his bond application, a decision upheld by an appeals board.
His attorneys have contended that the sole basis for the alleged gang affiliation stemmed from a confidential informant’s claim of Abrego Garcia’s active membership in MS-13, and the fact that he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and sweatshirt during his arrest. They also highlighted that he has no criminal record. “He has never faced any charges or convictions, in the United States, El Salvador, or elsewhere,” his legal team noted.
Abrego Garcia was released from federal custody after an immigration judge granted him a “withholding of removal” status to El Salvador, a legal classification that protects individuals who can demonstrate a likelihood of persecution in their homeland. The judge determined that returning Abrego Garcia to El Salvador would likely expose him to gang violence.
Abrego Garcia’s wife informed CBS News that her husband regularly checked in with immigration authorities following his release and was employed as a sheet metal worker. However, he was arrested again on March 12, as the Trump administration alleged he held a “prominent role” in MS-13 and questioned regarding his links to the organization, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated as a “foreign terrorist organization” in February.
Following this, Abrego Garcia was transferred to a detention facility in Texas, according to his wife, and subsequently boarded a flight to El Salvador on March 15.
Although the Trump administration acknowledged its mistake in his deportation, it opposed measures to return him to the U.S. due to his alleged MS-13 ties. The Justice Department has also claimed it no longer has jurisdiction over Abrego Garcia, as he is now under the control of the Salvadoran government.
A federal judge in Maryland conducted a hearing regarding the challenge against Abrego Garcia’s removal, ultimately ordering the administration to reinstate him in the U.S. by 11:59 p.m. Monday. During the proceedings, a Justice Department attorney, Erez Reuveni, admitted that Abrego Garcia “should not have been removed” and expressed frustration regarding the lack of information from the Trump administration about the reasons for his initial arrest. In the aftermath, Reuveni was placed on administrative leave.
The presiding judge, Paula Xinis, issued a stinging opinion on Sunday, stating that the federal government “admitted to a significant error” that “shocks the conscience.”
The Trump administration appealed this district court ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, seeking to delay Xinis’ order requiring Abrego Garcia’s return.
Sauer then pursued emergency relief from the Supreme Court. His statement requesting the court to block Xinis’ decision came just as the 4th Circuit rejected the administration’s appeal to intervene in the matter.
The solicitor general, newly confirmed to his position last week, labeled the district court’s ruling as “unprecedented and indefensible,” arguing that the lower courts are attempting to “usurp control over foreign relations and treat the Executive Branch as a subordinate diplomat, demanding that the United States permit a member of a foreign terrorist organization entry into America tonight.”
