The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, has sparked a complex legal and diplomatic battle. Here are the key reasons why his return to the US remains uncertain:
- El Salvador’s denial: Despite multiple efforts to facilitate Garcia’s return, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele firmly stated, “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don’t have the power to return him.” Bukele’s response reflects the country’s refusal to cooperate in the matter.
Trump administration’s reluctance: The Trump administration has shown little interest in reversing the deportation. Justice Department filings argue that the executive branch holds exclusive power over foreign relations, complicating any attempts to involve the courts in the matter.- Limited public pressure: Public advocacy for Garcia’s return has been limited. While Maryland Senator Chris
Van Hollen visited El Salvador to secure his release, his efforts have been stymied by a lack of tangible evidence linking Garcia to gang activities, despite his alleged MS-13 connections. - Criminal charges and alleged gang ,membership:
Garcia , originally from El Salvador but legally residing in the US , has been accused of being a member of the MS-13 gang. Though he has not been charged with any gang-related crimes, his alleged affiliation with the notorious group has complicated his case. - Legal hurdles: Garcia’s legal situation is clouded by conflicting rulings. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him protection from deportation to El Salvador, acknowledging the risk of harm there. However, an administrative error by ICE led to his wrongful deportation. Despite
court orders demanding his return, the Trump administration has resisted compliance, leading to a drawn-out legal battle.
Also read: ‘How can I smuggle a terrorist into US’: El Salvador president refuses to return Maryland man after wrongful deportation
The US Supreme Court recently ruled that the Trump administration must facilitate Garcia’s return, but the government continues to resist, citing concerns over international relations. With no clear resolution in sight, Garcia remains detained in a high-security prison in El Salvador, his fate hanging in the balance of legal and diplomatic negotiations.
Timeline of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s case
March 12, 2025
- Kilmar Abrego Garcia was stopped by immigration agents who wrongly told him that his status had changed, court documents show.
- He had “withholding from removal” status, which means he was allowed to stay in the US because of the likelihood that he’d face harm in El Salvador.
- Ábrego García was questioned about gang affiliation and then transferred to a Texas detention center.
- Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrested by ICE in Baltimore.
March 15, 2025
- Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador: DOJ.
- Although “ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Ábrego García was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error,” DOJ attorneys said in a filing.
March 24, 2025
- Jennifer Vasquez Sura, Abrego Garcia’s wife, files an affidavit.
March 31, 2025
- The Atlantic first reports on Abrego Garcia’s imprisonment over “administrative error.”
- The DOJ admitted in court papers that the Salvadorian national living in Maryland legally was wrongly deported.
April 4, 2025
- Judge
Xinis ordered the Trump administration to return Ábrego García from an El Salvador prison to the US by midnight on April 7.
April 7, 2025
- The Supreme Court temporarily paused a federal judge’s midnight deadline to return Ábrego García to the US while the justices weighed the case.
- The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier the same day refused to block Xinis’ order.
April 10, 2025
- The Supreme Court ruled in an unsigned order with no dissenting votes that the Trump administration must take steps to “facilitate” Ábrego García’s release from custody.
- The high court said the government must ensure his case is “handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”
April 11, 2025
- A federal judge demanded the government provide daily updates in Ábrego García’s case.
- US District Judge
Paula Xinis said this should include sharing information on Ábrego García’s location plus steps it has already taken to return him to the US and steps it will take moving forward.
April 12, 2025
- Ábrego García’s attorneys in a court filing highlighted Trump’s comments a day earlier that he would “bring somebody back” if the Supreme Court directed it.
- The lawyers in a motion to the judge overseeing the case characterised this statement as an acknowledgment that the US “has the power to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s release from prison and return” him.
- Despite Trump’s acknowledgment, Ábrego García’s attorneys argued, the DOJ “and other Government agencies continue to resist this Court and the Supreme Court.”
April 13, 2025
- DOJ attorneys said in a court filing, “The federal courts have no authority to direct the executive branch to conduct foreign relations in a particular way, or engage with a foreign sovereign in a given manner.”
- They added, “That is the ‘exclusive power of the president as the sole organ of the federal government in the field of international relations.”
April 14, 2025
- El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said he can’t return Ábrego García, to the US , nor will he release him within the country.
- “The question is preposterous,” Bukele said during a press conference with President Trump. “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don’t have the power to return him.”
- El Salvadorian president visits White House, says he won’t return or release Abrego Garcia.
April 15, 2025
- The DOJ said in a court filing that if Ábrego García returns to the US , he will be detained and removed from the country.
- He will either be sent to a country that’s not El Salvador, or the government will seek to “terminate” his “withholding of removal” status and send him back to El Salvador, the filing states.
- A federal judge later that day wouldn’t rule out holding the government in contempt of court, per multiple reports.
April 16, 2025
- El Salvador’s government denied a request from Van Hollen to see or speak to Ábrego García, the senator said during a visit to the country.
- Van Hollen said he asked El Salvador Vice President Félix Ulloa why his constituent is being held if US courts and El Salvador’s government had found no evidence that Ábrego García is a member of the MS-13 gang.
- “His answer was that the Trump administration is paying El Salvador, the government of El Salvador to keep him at CECOT,” the senator said.
April 17, 2025
- Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) visited Ábrego García at the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) prison where his constituent is being held, hours after being denied entry for a second time.
- A federal appeals court earlier that day rejected a Trump administration request to block a lower court’s order requiring his return.
April 18, 2025
- Fresh images of Kilmar Ábrego García surfaced after El Salvador President Nayib Bukele posted photos of him “sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!🍹”
- Bukele wrote on X: “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody. Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the ‘death camps’ & ‘torture’, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen…”
- Sen. Van Hollen confirmed meeting Ábrego García and said he called his wife to “pass along his message of love.”
- Van Hollen also said soldiers had earlier blocked his vehicle “just kilometres from the facility.”
- El Salvador’s Vice President Félix Ulloa reportedly told Van Hollen that their government has no intention of sending him back.
