The U.S. Supreme Court has issued an order requiring the Trump administration to facilitate the return of an El Salvadoran national who had been deported to a prison in his native country.
In an unsigned order released Thursday, the Supreme Court told the government to begin the steps of returning Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to the United States, denying in part the government’s application to vacate a lower court ruling.
“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,” read the ruling.
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“The intended scope of the term ‘effectuate’ in the district court’s order is, however, unclear, and may exceed the district court’s authority.”
The Supreme Court order included a statement from Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in which she was joined by fellow justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
“Because every factor governing requests for equitable relief manifestly weighs against the Government … I would have declined to intervene in this litigation and denied the application in full,” stated Sotomayor.
“Nevertheless, I agree with the Court’s order that the proper remedy is to provide Abrego Garcia with all the process to which he would have been entitled had he not been unlawfully removed to El Salvador. That means the Government must comply with its obligation to provide Abrego Garcia with ‘due process of law,’ including notice and an opportunity to be heard, in any future proceedings.”
A U.S. Department of Justice spokesman responded in a statement, expressing support for the order’s focus on the executive branch’s power.
“As the Supreme Court correctly recognized, it is the exclusive prerogative of the president to conduct foreign affairs,” the spokesman said. “By directly noting the deference owed to the executive branch, this ruling once again illustrates that activist judges do not have the jurisdiction to seize control of the president’s authority to conduct foreign policy.”
Andrew J. Rossman, one of Abrego Garcia’s lawyers, expressed support for the Supreme Court order, according to The New York Times, saying that the “rule of law won today.”
An El Salvadoran native who unlawfully entered the U.S. during the Obama administration and resided in Prince George’s County, Maryland, Abrego Garcia was deported last month under the allegation that he’s an MS-13 gang member.
Abrego Garcia filed a lawsuit against several federal officials, including Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons, alleging that he was deprived of due process.
Lawyers for Abrego Garcia also argued that a judge had granted him federal protection from being deported in 2019.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed at a press briefing earlier this month that Abrego Garcia had violated immigration laws, “is a leader in the brutal MS-13 gang, and he is involved in human trafficking.”
However, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis rejected the claim that Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13, demanding in her order that he be returned and that “the ‘evidence’ against Abrego Garcia consisted of nothing more than his Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie, and a vague, uncorroborated allegation from a confidential informant claiming he belonged to MS-13’s ‘Western’ clique in New York — a place he has never lived.”
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin alleged in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation that “intelligence reports” substantiate the government’s belief that Abrego Garcia “is involved in human trafficking,” adding that “he should be locked up.”
U.S. Solicitor General Dean John Sauer filed a request with the Supreme Court to vacate the lower court ruling, reiterating the claim that Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 member, but also saying that “removing him to El Salvador” was “an administrative error.”
Earlier this week, Chief Justice John Roberts stayed the district court order and requested a response from plaintiff attorneys, to which they responded soon after his request.
“Abrego Garcia has never been charged with a crime, in any country. He is not wanted by the Government of El Salvador,” his lawyers told the court, according to Fox News. “He sits in a foreign prison solely at the behest of the United States, as the product of a Kafka-esque mistake.”
