El Salvador President Nayib Bukele announced that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident deported to El Salvador, would not be returned to the United States.
President Bukele made this statement following a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which directed the Trump administration to facilitate Garcia’s return.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision requiring the Trump administration to support the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to American soil.
The ruling emphasized that a lower court’s directive to facilitate Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador was valid.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who lived for a decade in the United States, was deported to El Salvador on March 15, 2025.
The deportation, labeled an “administrative error” by the Trump administration, involved Garcia being sent to a notorious gang prison upon arrival in El Salvador.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, while visiting the White House and meeting with President Donald Trump, stated he had no authority to return Garcia to the U.S. Bukele labeled Garcia as a “terrorist” and expressed it was “preposterous” to consider sending him back.
The Supreme Court’s decision came after an immigration judge previously ruled against Garcia’s deportation. The judge concluded there was a “clear probability of future persecution” for Garcia if returned to El Salvador due to threats from gang violence.
Democratic lawmakers, led by Senator Chris Van Hollen, have expressed intentions to travel to El Salvador to advocate for Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s release.
They are pushing for compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling and the return of Garcia to the U.S.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia entered the United States illegally in 2011 at 16 years old. In 2019, an immigration judge granted Garcia “withholding of removal” status. This status is a rare alternative to asylum granted due to threats from gangs in El Salvador.
The Supreme Court ruling has sparked discussions on presidential authority in cases involving deportation errors and the government’s role in facilitating corrections of such errors.
