The nation’s highest court has temporarily halted an order requiring the Trump administration to bring back a Maryland resident mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
Chief Justice John Roberts issued a temporary stay Monday, effectively pausing a lower court ruling that demanded the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia by Tuesday midnight. Garcia, a legal Maryland resident, was inadvertently sent to El Salvador last month due to what the government has acknowledged as an “administrative error.”
The administration appealed the district court’s decision to both the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court in anticipation of the appellate court’s ruling. Earlier that day, judges on the Fourth Circuit unanimously rejected the Justice Department’s request for a stay, paving the way for the Supreme Court’s intervention.
This last-minute action by Roberts grants the administration additional time to comply with the order mandating Garcia’s return to the United States. The case remains “stayed pending further order,” according to Roberts’ ruling, and a response from the plaintiffs was requested by Tuesday night.
Garcia’s legal team responded swiftly, highlighting the unusual nature of his situation in a brief filed with the Supreme Court:
“This case is one of one. It presents the ‘extraordinary circumstances’ of the Government conceding that it erred in removing Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia ‘to a foreign country for which he was not eligible for removal.’”
The lawyers further emphasized, “Abrego Garcia has never been charged with a crime, in any country. He is not wanted by the Government of El Salvador. He sits in a foreign prison solely at the behest of the United States, as the product of a Kafka-esque mistake.”
The situation involving Abrego Garcia’s deportation comes amid broader scrutiny surrounding the administration’s deportation flights to El Salvador. Last month, approximately 261 migrants were sent on those flights, including over 100 Venezuelan nationals targeted for immediate removal under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
The legal validity of employing this wartime law for the swift deportation of Venezuelan citizens is also currently being reviewed by the Supreme Court. A decision in that separate case is expected shortly.
- Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident, was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
- The government has admitted his removal was an “administrative error.”
- He has never been charged with a crime and is not wanted by authorities in El Salvador.
This is a developing story; further updates will be provided as they become available.
