US Supreme Court orders return of migrant wrongly deported to El Salvador

The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man deported in what officials are calling an “administrative error.”

Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident since 2011, came to the US as a teenager seeking safety and was deported to El Salvador last month despite a court order protecting him from removal. He was among over 200 people sent to a prison in El Salvador last month as part of Trump’s crackdown on undocumented migrants.

The reason? Allegations of gang affiliation with MS-13, a claim based on flimsy evidence, including his choice of a Chicago Bulls hat. The Trump administration later admitted the deportation violated federal law but argued it lacked the authority to bring him back.

The court’s decision comes after the Justice Department asked the justices to throw out an April 4 order by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis requiring the administration to “facilitate and effectuate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

The judge had issued the order in response to a lawsuit filed by Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who was living in Maryland and has had a work permit since 2019, and his family challenging the legality of his deportation.

His deportation to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison, a facility criticized for its harsh conditions, has sparked outrage among human rights advocates.

The Supreme Court’s ruling doesn’t guarantee Abrego Garcia’s return. It merely instructs the administration to “facilitate” his release.