WASHINGTON – The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to block a court order requiring the return to the U.S. of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
What we know:
Government attorneys argued over the weekend that U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis didn’t have the authority to order the Trump administration to broker the return of a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported from the U.S. to a notorious El Salvador prison.
An emergency appeal over Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s case was delivered to the Supreme Court late Sunday night.
The government faces a court-ordered deadline of 11:59 p.m. Monday night for Abrego Garcia’s return.
Government lawyers argue that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13 and that they can’t force El Salvador to return Abrego Garcia.
“The United States does not control the sovereign nation of El Salvador, nor can it compel El Salvador to follow a federal judge’s bidding,” court documents argue.
Dig deeper:
Read the full court documents below:
The backstory:
Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran national, was arrested in Maryland and deported last month despite an immigration judge’s 2019 ruling that shielded him from deportation to El Salvador, where he faced likely persecution by local gangs.
His mistaken deportation, described by the White House as an “administrative error,” has outraged many and raised concerns about expelling noncitizens who were granted permission to be in the U.S.
Dozens of supporters gathered at the Greenbelt, Maryland, federal courthouse for Friday’s hearing. A cheer erupted in the courtroom when Xinis ruled in favor of Abrego Garcia, whose wife, a U.S. citizen, was in attendance.
Xinis, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, said there was no legal basis for Abrego Garcia’s detention and no legal justification for his removal to El Salvador, where he has been held in a prison that observers say is rife with human rights abuses.
Abrego Garcia’s attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said the government has done nothing to get his client back, even after admitting its errors.
This is a developing story. Stay with FOX 5 DC.
The Source: This story includes court documents, previous FOX 5 DC reporting and Associated Press reporting.
