Supreme Court says government must facilitate release of Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador

Washington — The Supreme Court on Thursday said the Trump administration must facilitate the release of a Maryland man mistakenly deported from custody in El Salvador, but ordered additional proceedings before a federal district court.

In an unsigned decision, the high court acknowledged that a late Monday deadline set by the district court judge to secure the return to the U.S. of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a native of El Salvador, and paused by Chief Justice John Roberts had already passed, effectively granting in part the emergency relief sought by the Trump administration.

But the court said that district court’s order “properly requires the government to ‘facilitate'” Abrego Garcia’s release from Salvadoran custody and to “ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”

The Supreme Court went on to say that the intended scope of the term “effectuate” in the lower court’s decision is unclear and may exceed its authority. The high court directed the district court to provide more clarification with the case sent back for further proceedings.

“The district court should clarify its directive, with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs,” the court said in an unsigned opinion. “For its part, the Government should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps.”

There were no noted dissents, and the three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, noted their respect for the court’s disposition of the application. Sotomayor said in a statement joined by Kagan and Jackson that there is agreement among the justices “that the proper remedy is to provide Abrego Garcia with all the process to which he would have been entitled had he not been unlawfully removed to El Salvador.”

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to step in after a federal district judge on Friday ordered it to take immediate action to return Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. The 29-year-old Salvadoran national was arrested by immigration authorities on March 15 and was among the more than 200 people sent on deportation flights to El Salvador last month. They are now being held at the notorious Salvadoran supermax prison known as CECOT.

Abrego Garcia’s case sparked backlash after a federal immigration official acknowledged in a court filing last week that his removal to El Salvador was an “administrative error” and “oversight.” 

Abrego Garcia came to the U.S. illegally in 2011 when he was 16 years old and was arrested in 2019, according to court documents. During immigration proceedings, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that Abrego Garcia was a member of the gang MS-13, citing a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie he was wearing and allegations from a confidential informant who said he belonged to a branch of MS-13 that operates on Long Island, New York, court records show.

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said he has never lived on Long Island and has no affiliation with MS-13. They also said he has no criminal history and has never been charged or convicted of any criminal offenses in the U.S. or El Salvador.

An immigration judge detained Abrego Garcia after denying a request for release on bond, which was upheld by an immigration appeals board. But he was ultimately granted withholding of removal to El Salvador, a legal status that prohibits the government from returning him to his home country because he is more likely than not to face persecution from local gangs, according to court records.

Abrego Garcia was released from custody following that decision and has lived for six years in Maryland with his wife and their children. He had regular check-ins with immigration authorities, according to court filings, but was arrested on March 12 after he was stopped by immigration agents while driving with his son in the back seat. Abrego Garcia was taken into custody and transported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in Baltimore, Louisiana and Texas before he was flown to El Salvador, according to legal filings.

After Abrego Garcia was sent to the Salvarodan prison last month, he and his wife, a U.S. citizen, filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Maryland alleging his removal violated federal immigration law and seeking an order requiring his return to U.S. custody.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis granted that request following a hearing Friday and directed the government to bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. no later than 11:59 p.m. Monday. The Justice Department asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit to halt that order, and while its request was pending, asked the Supreme Court to intervene. The 4th Circuit then declined to pause the district court’s decision.

In a filing with the Supreme Court, Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that the lower court order “sets the United States up for failure” because it interfered with President Trump’s ability to conduct foreign diplomacy and set a tight timeline for compliance. He wrote that the U.S. cannot force the release of Abrego Garcia because he is now in the custody of the Salvadoran government.

“The United States does not control the sovereign nation of El Salvador, nor can it compel El Salvador to follow a federal judge’s bidding,” the solicitor general wrote.

Sotomayor warned in her statement that the government’s argument “implies that it could deport and incarcerate any person, including U. S. citizens, without legal consequence, so long as it does so before a court can intervene.”

Lawyers for Abrego Garcia called his case “one of one,” and argued in court papers that requiring the government to facilitate their client’s return is “not novel,” because the district court’s order just requires the Trump administration to correct its own error.

“The executive branch may not seize individuals from the streets, deposit them in foreign prisons in violation of court orders, and then invoke the separation of powers to insulate its unlawful actions from judicial scrutiny,” they wrote.

Abrego Garcia’s legal team called the government’s mistake in removing him “Kafka-esque,” and noted that he has lived in the U.S. for several years without any issues. 

“The government offers no evidence that he has become a threat overnight,” they wrote.

Migrants removed from the U.S. are being housed in CECOT as a result of a temporary agreement the Trump administration reached with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, under which the U.S. government is paying the Salvadoran government $6 million to hold U.S. detainees for a year. 

Citing this arrangement, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers argued that the U.S. government “functionally controls Abrego Garcia’s detention — it has simply contracted with El Salvador to be the jailer.”

Lower courts also said that the government has control over Abrego Garcia, since he is being temporarily housed in CECOT at the Trump administration’s request.

“The government’s claim that it can remove an individual from the United States pursuant to such an agreement and thereby lose the ability to reclaim that individual and return him to the country for process (or for any other purpose) cannot stand,” Judge Stephanie Thacker, who sits on the 4th Circuit, wrote in an opinion. She added that “the government’s actions in this case most assuredly violated the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.”

Thacker, who was joined by Judge Robert King, wrote that “the government cannot escape its responsibility to return Abrego Garcia to the United States by claiming it now lacks authority to control El Salvador.”

While the Trump administration has acknowledged that it inadvertently sent Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, it has argued that the federal courts do not have the power to demand his return since he’s no longer in U.S. custody. Administration officials have also claimed that he is an MS-13 “leader,” though they have not produced evidence to support the allegations.

During last week’s hearing before Xinis, Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni repeatedly struggled to answer the judge’s questions but said he wasn’t given sufficient information by the administration.

“The facts are conceded, plaintiff Abrego Garcia should not have been removed,” Reuveni said.

When questioned about why the government is not able to return Abrego Garcia, Reuveni said he “asked the government the same question” and did not receive an answer. The Justice Department lawyer said multiple times he was “frustrated” with the government’s lack of cooperation in the case. 

Following Friday’s argument, Reuveni was placed on administrative leave, and Sauer said in a filing that his statements were “inappropriate” and “do not reflect the position of the United States.”

In a statement provided to CBS News about Reuveni’s employment status, Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “At my direction, every Department of Justice attorney is required to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States. Any attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences.”