The Trump administration says a Maryland man who was deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador will not be returned to the U.S.
Abrego Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador, was in the U.S. illegally when he applied for legal alien status. A court order issued in 2019 barred his deportation back to El Salvador.
President Donald Trump has vowed to deport millions of illegal aliens – beginning with criminal gang members.
Officials said Garcia is a member of the notorious MS-13 street gang. Tattoos on his body allegedly prove he is a member of MS-13, but Garcia denied the allegations.
Garcia was among a group of alleged gang members deported back to El Salvador on March 15. However, on April 10, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” Garcia’s return to the U.S.
The Trump administration said the Supreme Court’s order stated only that they “facilitate” Garcia’s return. The administration took that to mean they are under no obligation to bring him back.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele met with U.S. President Trump in the Oval Office on Monday, April 14.
In response to a question from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, President Bukele said, “I hope you’re not suggesting that I smuggle a terrorist into the United States. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? Of course I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous.”
Under an agreement with El Salvador’s government, Trump plans to begin deporting U.S. citizens who are violent gang members to the CECOT prison in El Salvador.
“We always have to obey laws, but we also have homegrown criminals that push people into subways, that hit elderly ladies on the back of the head with a baseball bat when they’re not looking, that are absolute monsters,” Trump said during his meeting with Bukele. “I’d like to include them.”
