The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to promote the return of Maryland men who were mistakenly deported to the infamous megajails of El Salvador.
The Trump administration admitted that Kilmer Abrego Garcia was deported by chance, but appealed to a lower court order to bring him back to the United States.
On Thursday, in a 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court refused to block the lower court’s order.
The judge’s order “requires that the government “promotes” the release of Abrego Garcia from custody in El Salvador and that his case be processed if he is not sent inappropriately.”
Garcia, now 29, has illegally entered the United States as a teenager in El Salvador. In 2019 he was arrested along with three other men in Maryland and taken into custody by federal immigration authorities.
However, the immigration judge granted him protection from deportation on the grounds that he could be at risk of persecution from local gangs in his home country.
He is detained in El Salvador’s largest security prison known as the Centre for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT), and the United States has been deported over the past few months for allegations of crime and gang activity.
His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sula, is a US citizen and called for his release. He reportedly worked as a sheet metal worker when he was detained on March 12th.
On April 4th, Maryland District Court Judge Paula Sinnis ordered the Trump administration to “promote and influence” Garcia’s return.
The government said Garcia was deported on March 15 due to “administrative errors,” but he claims he is a member of the MS-13 gang.
In an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Trump administration argued that Maryland judges lack the authority to issue orders and that US officials cannot force Garcia to return to El Salvador.
US Attorney General D. John Saur wrote in his emergency court application: “The United States does not control the sovereign state of El Salvador and cannot force it to comply with the bids of federal judges.”
“The Constitution accuses the President, not the federal district court, of protecting the nation from acts of diplomacy and foreign terrorists, including implementing their removal.”
On Monday, the Supreme Court temporarily put a lower court order on hold while considering the matter.
