Supreme Court Orders U.S. to Retrieve Deported Man \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration must retrieve Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongly deported to El Salvador. A federal judge had previously blocked his removal, citing threats from gangs. The Court dismissed the administration’s emergency appeal and criticized the deportation as “lawless.”
Quick Looks
- Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador despite a court order protecting him.
- The Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s emergency appeal to avoid bringing him back.
- U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis had given a Monday deadline to return him.
- The justices said the government must take action to retrieve him and report its efforts.
- Abrego Garcia is currently jailed in a notorious Salvadoran prison.
- The administration alleges MS-13 ties but offered no charges or evidence.
- Justice Sotomayor criticized the deportation, calling it a threat to legal protections.
- The Court insisted that executive power over foreign affairs be respected but not unchecked.
- A DOJ lawyer admitted the deportation was a mistake; he was later removed from the case.
- Abrego Garcia held legal work authorization and was pursuing a trade license in the U.S.
Deep Look
In a sharp rebuke of executive overreach, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to take steps to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man wrongly deported to his home country despite explicit court protections. The decision sends a clear message that federal agencies must respect judicial authority and uphold procedural rights, even amid national security and immigration concerns.
The high court refused an emergency appeal by the administration, which sought to delay or avoid the return of Abrego Garcia, who is now being held in a notorious prison in El Salvador, a country from which he was previously barred from being deported due to fears of gang violence.
The Man at the Center: Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Abrego Garcia, 29, had been living and working legally in the U.S. under a Department of Homeland Security permit. He was employed as a sheet metal apprentice and working toward a journeyman license. His wife is a U.S. citizen, and he had no criminal record.
In 2019, an immigration judge ruled that Abrego Garcia could not be deported to El Salvador because he faced a credible risk of persecution from violent gangs, specifically MS-13. Despite this legal safeguard, he was detained by immigration agents and deported in 2024, a move later admitted as a mistake by a Justice Department attorney.
An Unlawful Deportation – And a Legal Showdown
In the aftermath, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis described the deportation as “wholly lawless,” noting that the government acted in direct contradiction to a standing immigration court order.
“There is little to no evidence to support the vague, uncorroborated claim that Abrego Garcia was part of MS-13,” she wrote in her decision.
Xinis ordered the federal government to return him to the United States by midnight on Monday, saying the administration was obligated to “facilitate” his release from Salvadoran custody and reinstate the legal process that was prematurely terminated.
The Supreme Court unanimously backed that directive in an unsigned opinion, affirming that the government must act while clarifying that the order should not overly interfere with executive authority over foreign affairs. Chief Justice John Roberts, who had temporarily stayed the lower court’s order, joined the ruling without dissent.
Allegations and Fallout
The Trump administration has attempted to justify the deportation by alleging ties between Abrego Garcia and MS-13, a violent criminal gang with deep roots in Central America. However, no charges have ever been filed, and his lawyers strongly dispute the claims.
Even more telling, a Department of Justice attorney conceded in court that the deportation had been a mistake — a stunning admission that prompted Attorney General Pam Bondi to remove the attorney, Erez Reuveni, from the case and place him on leave.
Sotomayor: A Warning Against Government Overreach
In a powerful concurring opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, delivered a strong critique of the administration’s claim that it could not bring Abrego Garcia back.
“The Government’s argument, moreover, implies that it could deport and incarcerate any person, including U.S. citizens, without legal consequence, so long as it does so before a court can intervene,” she wrote.
Sotomayor called the deportation an egregious error and emphasized that the administration was “plainly wrong” to argue that it lacked the ability to correct its own unlawful actions.
Next Steps: Compliance and International Coordination
Though the Supreme Court upheld Judge Xinis’s order, it instructed her to refine the language to avoid infringing on executive authority in international affairs. The ruling still firmly requires the administration to:
- Show what steps it has taken to secure Abrego Garcia’s release.
- Report on any remaining options available to repatriate him.
- Reopen his immigration case as if the unlawful deportation never occurred.
The Trump administration now faces the challenge of coordinating with Salvadoran authorities, who hold Abrego Garcia in a high-security prison. International diplomacy, often complex under normal circumstances, may now be further strained as the U.S. seeks to reverse its own actions abroad.
A Broader Warning to Federal Agencies
The Supreme Court’s ruling is part of a growing pattern where lower courts and now the high court are scrutinizing how far the executive branch can go, particularly in immigration and deportation matters. While the conservative-majority Court has frequently sided with Trump on emergency petitions in recent months, this unanimous ruling stands out.
It draws a legal boundary between immigration enforcement and individual rights, affirming that even amid national security concerns, constitutional safeguards remain in force.
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