Supreme Court says Trump adminration must work to bring back makenly deported Maryland man | World News

The Supreme Court on Thursday said the Trump adminration must work to bring back a Maryland man who was makenly deported to prison in El Salvador, rejecting the adminration’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 Drict Judge Paula Xinis had ordered Abrego Garcia, now being held in a notorious Salvadoran prison, returned to the United States midnight Monday.
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“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.
It comes after a string of rulings on the court’s emergency docket where the conservative majority has at least partially sided with Trump amid a wave of lower court orders slowing the president’s sweeping agenda.
In Thursday’s case, Chief Justice John Roberts had already pushed back Xinis’ deadline. The justices also said that her order must now be clarified to make sure it doesn’t intrude into executive branch power over foreign affairs, since Abrego Garcia is being held abroad. The court said the Trump adminration should also be prepared to share what steps it has taken to try to get him back — and what more it could potentially do.
The adminration claims Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, though he has never been charged with or convicted of a crime. His attorneys said there is no evidence he was in MS-13.Story continues below this ad
This undated photo provided CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, in April 2025, shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (CASA via AP)
The adminration has conceded that it made a make in sending him to El Salvador, but argued that it no longer could do anything about it.
The court’s liberal justices said the adminration should have hastened to correct “its egregious error” and was “plainly wrong” to suggest it could not bring him home.
“The Government’s argument, moreover, implies that it could deport and incarcerate any person, including US citizens, without legal consequence, so long as it does so before a court can intervene,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, joined her two colleagues.
Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, said the ordeal has been an “emotional rollercoaster” for their family and the entire community.Story continues below this ad
“I am anxiously waiting for Kilmar to be here in my arms, and in our home putting our children to bed, knowing this nightmare is almost at its end. I will continue fighting until my husband is home,” she said.
One of his lawyers, Simon Sandoval-Moshenburg, said “tonight, the rule of law prevailed,” and he encouraged the government to “stop wasting time and get moving.”
In the drict court, Xinis wrote that the decision to arrest Abrego Garcia and send him to El Salvador appears to be “wholly lawless.” There is little to no evidence to support a “vague, uncorroborated” allegation that Abrego Garcia was once in the MS-13 street gang, Xinis wrote.
The 29-year-old was detained immigration agents and deported last month.Story continues below this ad
He had a permit from the Homeland Security Department to legally work in the US and was a sheet metal apprentice pursuing a journeyman license, his attorney said. His wife is a US citizen.
Tricia McLaughlin, assant DHS secretary for public affairs, said Thursday that the justices’ order for clarification from the lower court was a win for the adminration. “We look forward to continuing to advance our position in this case,” she said.
A Justice Department spokesman said the court had “directly noted the deference owed to the Executive Branch” in foreign affairs.
An immigration judge had previously barred the US from deporting Abrego Garcia to El Salvador in 2019, finding that he faced likely persecution local gangs.Story continues below this ad
A Justice Department lawyer conceded in a court hearing that Abrego Garcia should not have been deported. Attorney General Pam Bondi later removed the lawyer, Erez Reuveni, from the case and placed him on leave.