US Supreme Court Extends Deadline for Return of Man Wrongly Deported to El Salvador | US News
The US Supreme Court has postponed a midnight deadline for the Trump administration to bring back a man who was erroneously deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
A US district judge has directed the administration to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia by the end of Monday, following a lawsuit filed by him and his family challenging the validity of his deportation.
The administration acknowledged that the 29-year-old should not have been sent to El Salvador as an immigration judge determined he was likely to face persecution from local gangs.
However, the administration contended that he is no longer under US custody and that there is no mechanism to retrieve him.
Mr. Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura (R), initiated legal action concerning her husband’s deportation. Pic: AP
US District Judge Paula Xinis granted the administration until shortly before midnight to “facilitate and effectuate” Mr. Garcia’s return.
She determined that the government lacked lawful authority to detain and deport Mr. Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant who was legally residing in Maryland with a work permit.
Judge Xinis remarked that the action taken to arrest and deport him to El Salvador appears to be “entirely lawless,” as there is minimal to no evidence backing a “vague, uncorroborated” claim that he was previously affiliated with the gang MS-13, which Mr. Trump’s administration had labeled as a foreign terrorist organization.
Mr. Garcia’s lawyers have denied any gang affiliation.
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Chief Justice John Roberts, acting on behalf of the US Supreme Court, momentarily suspended the judge’s order, providing the nine justices with more time to assess the administration’s plea to block the order while litigation progresses in the case.
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Supreme Court permits Trump to employ 18th-century law for deportations
This follows the Supreme Court’s decision allowing the Trump administration to use a wartime statute from 1798 to deport Venezuelan migrants, though they must receive a court hearing prior to their removal from the US.
The sharply divided 5-4 ruling was a response to the administration’s emergency appeal regarding a court order that temporarily barred summary deportations under Mr. Trump’s interpretation of the Alien Enemies Act as litigation continues.
Mr. Trump invoked the act, primarily known for its application in interning Japanese, Italian, and German immigrants during World War II, on March 15 to deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang.
