The Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to help facilitate the removal of a migrant who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador, despite an immigration judge's 2019 order prohibiting his removal, but kicked the case back to a lower court — and any possible date for return remains an open question.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador on March 15 and has been detained in a notorious Salvadoran megaprison, the Center for Terrorism Confinement. The Trump administration later acknowledged that his removal was due to an "administrative error" and said he is linked to the violent MS-13 street gang. Abrego Garcia has denied he's a member of the gang.
Earlier this month, a federal district court ordered the government to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S. by April 7. On Thursday, the conservative-leaning Supreme Court partially granted and denied the government's application seeking relief from the district court's injunction.
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Chief Justice Roberts issued an administrative stay vacating the deadline imposed by the district court, but the lower court's order remained largely intact. The high court, however, said the order requires clarification on its scope, particularly regarding the term "effectuate."
"The order properly requires the Government to 'facilitate' Abrego Garcia's release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador," the ruling said. "The intended scope of the term 'effectuate' in the District Court's order is, however, unclear and may exceed the District Court's authority."
Liberal-leaning Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, emphasized that Abrego Garcia's removal lacked legal basis and violated prior orders.