Supreme Court Orders Return of Salvadoran Man Deported to El Salvador

The Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court's decision, paving the way for the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national residing in Maryland. He was deported to El Salvador and is currently held in a prison there.

Abrego Garcia, 29, was deported last month to a large El Salvadoran prison, with authorities alleging he is an MS-13 gang member. However, his legal representatives maintain he has no gang affiliations. A U.S. District Judge had previously ordered federal officials to arrange his return to Maryland, deeming his deportation "wholly unlawful," a decision the Supreme Court has now supported.

The Supreme Court's order acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was deported despite a withholding order that prohibited his removal to El Salvador, thereby making the deportation illegal. Justice Sonia Sotomayor expressed her agreement with the court's order, stating that Abrego Garcia should receive the same legal processes he would have been entitled to had he not been unlawfully deported. This includes the government fulfilling its obligation to provide him with "due process of law," including notice and an opportunity to be heard in any future proceedings.

The High Court further stated that the government must "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's release from custody in El Salvador and ensure his case is handled as if he had not been improperly sent there. The Justice Department responded to the order, emphasizing the President's exclusive authority over foreign affairs.

Court documents indicate that Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador to escape gang violence. He entered the United States illegally in 2011 and settled in Maryland, where his brother, a U.S. citizen, resided. He later formed a relationship with a U.S. citizen, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, and her children, and they lived together. Abrego Garcia worked in construction to support his family.

In 2019, Abrego Garcia was detained by police after seeking employment at a Home Depot. During questioning, he denied being a gang member, but police allegedly disbelieved him and demanded information about other gang members. He was later released, married his now-wife, and missed the birth of his child while in federal custody. Abrego Garcia was arrested again in Baltimore on March 12 after working as a sheet metal apprentice and picking up his son, who has autism, from his grandmother's house.