When will Kilmar Abrego Garcia return from El Salvador? Supreme Court tells US to fix their ‘administrative error’
The U.S. Supreme Court has mandated the Trump administration to rectify the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was sent to El Salvador.
The US Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to take action to reverse the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was sent to El Salvador last month — a country an immigration judge had specifically ruled he should not be sent to due to fears of persecution by a gang.
Abrego Garcia’s deportation came after what the government has admitted was an “administrative error.” He’s currently being held in El Salvador’s notorious CECOT anti-terrorism prison, where harsh conditions and indefinite detentions are common.
US officials ordered to facilitate Abrego Garcia's release
On Thursday, the Supreme Court refused to block a lower court order that instructs U.S. officials to “facilitate” his release from custody in El Salvador and ensure his case proceeds as if he had never been removed.
The justices stated the judge’s 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.”
US District Judge Paula Xinis had ordered the government to bring him back by a Monday deadline, which was temporarily paused by Chief Justice John Roberts and is now “no longer effective,” according to the court.
“By directly noting the deference owed to the Executive Branch, this ruling once again illustrates that activist judges do not have the jurisdiction to seize control of the president’s authority to conduct foreign policy,” the Department of Justice said afterwards.
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Who is Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
Abrego Garcia was among dozens deported on controversial flights last month that also removed about 130 Venezuelan men under the Alien Enemies Act.
He has lived in Maryland for over a decade after entering the US illegally around 2011. Though flagged by local police in 2019 for suspected gang ties — based on his clothing — an immigration judge later found no evidence linking him to MS-13. Instead, the judge had granted him protection from being sent back to El Salvador due to threats from the Barrio 18 gang.
There is no set date for Abrego Garcia’s return. However, following the Supreme Court’s ruling, the administration is under pressure to fix the mistake. The justices added that the government must “be prepared to share” more details about how it plans to do so.
