Apr 4, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Man mistakenly deported to El Salvador must be returned, judge orders

Sareen Habeshian

Suspected members of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua and Mara Salvatrucha-13 gang, who were deported to El Salvador by the U.S. in San Salvador, are checked by authorities before being sent to the country's infamous mega-prison at CECOP facility prison. Photo: El Salvador Press Presidency Office/Anadolu — Suspected members of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua and Mara Salvatrucha-13 gang, who were deported to El Salvador by the U.S., are checked by authorities before being sent to the country's infamous mega-prison. Photo: El Salvador Press Presidency Office/Anadolu via Getty Image

The Trump administration must return a man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador to the U.S., a judge ordered Friday.

The big picture: Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorian national living in Maryland legally, was detained by immigration officials and erroneously deported despite a prevailing court order saying he could remain in the U.S.

The move sets the stage for yet another high-stakes legal battle between the judicial and executive branches, testing the limits of President Trump's power.

Driving the news: U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said Abrego Garcia must be brought back from an El Salvador prison by midnight Monday, per the court order.

Context: Abrego Garcia was stopped on March 12 by immigration agents who wrongly told him that his status had changed.

He was questioned about gang affiliation and transferred to a Texas detention center before being taken to El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia has not been convicted of gang-related crimes, though he was accused of such in court.
The Justice Department later said that "although ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error."

Go deeper: Trump administration says it mistakenly deported man to El Salvador

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Man mistakenly deported to El Salvador must be returned, judge orders

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