El Salvador Deportation

El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele

El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said yesterday he would not return to the US a Maryland man with protected legal status who was mistakenly deported—raising concerns about due process.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, fled to the US as a teenager after facing gang threats in El Salvador. In 2019, a US immigration judge issued a court order barring his deportation to protect him from harm. However, the Trump administration expelled Garcia to a Salvadoran mega-prison last month despite no criminal charges against him, later acknowledging the move was a clerical error. Garcia’s case is one of more than 200 migrants who have been deported after Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (see previous write-up). The Trump administration is paying the Salvadoran government $6M to host deportees.

Bukele's comments came after the US Supreme Court ordered the administration to facilitate Garcia’s return last week. US officials have stated they cannot force El Salvador to return him, but legal experts say judges can order the US to have Garcia returned and note the US has previously assisted in returning mistakenly deported individuals.