Judge Orders U.S. Government
federal judge on Friday ruled that the United States must bring back a man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador last month.
Judge Paula Xinis of the US District Court in Maryland directed the federal government to return Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, to the US no later than 11:59 p.m. on April 7.
The Trump administration conceded in a court filing Monday it mistakenly deported the Maryland father of three “because of an administrative error,” but said it could not bring him back because he is in Salvadoran custody. It appeared to mark the first time the administration has admitted an error related to its recent deportation flights to El Salvador, which are now at the center of a fraught legal battle.
“This case is certainly important to Abrego Garcia and his family,” the judge said. “In recognition of that. I feel like I can’t wait on giving my order.”
Over the course of the hearing, Xinis had repeatedly raised issues with Abrego Garcia’s removal to El Salvador, given that an immigration judge had previously granted him withholding of removal, meaning he could suffer persecution if removed from the US to El Salvador. He was still considered removable; it just couldn’t be to El Salvador. Xinis cited that status in her ruling, saying Abrego Garcia was apprehended last month “without legal basis” and deported “without justification of legal basis.”
“This was an illegal act,” Xinis said. “Congress said you can’t do it, and you did it anyway.”