Supreme Court declines full intervention in illegal deportation of Salvadoran man

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday declined to fully intervene in the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who was illegally deported from Maryland despite a court order barring his removal.

Abrego Garcia is currently being held at El Salvador’s high-security Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), which is used to detain members of criminal gangs such as MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.

The Department of Homeland Security acknowledged that the deportation was carried out in violation of a 2019 immigration court ruling, which found that Abrego Garcia faced a high probability of persecution in El Salvador. Federal officials attributed the removal to an “administrative error,” but argued that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13 and poses a threat to public safety if allowed to return.

In a brief unsigned order, the justices granted the government’s request to partially vacate a lower court ruling that required Abrego Garcia to be returned to the U.S. by April 7. However, the Court left in place key parts of the ruling that direct the government to facilitate his release from Salvadoran custody and treat his case as if the deportation had not occurred.

The matter is now remanded to the district court for clarification on how far that directive extends.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan, issued a rebuke of the government’s actions, arguing that Abrego Garcia had been “warrantlessly arrested,” deported, and detained abroad without legal justification.

“To this day, the Government has cited no basis in law for Abrego Garcia’s warrantless arrest, his removal to El Salvador, or his confinement in a Salvadoran prison,” Sotomayor wrote. “The Government now requests an order from this Court permitting it to leave Abrego Garcia, a husband and father without a criminal record, in a Salvadoran prison for no reason recognized by the law.”

Abrego Garcia has denied any affiliation with MS-13 and claims to have lived peacefully in the United States for more than a decade. No criminal charges have been filed against him in the U.S.

The case comes just days after the Court sided with the Trump administration in a separate immigration dispute involving Venezuelan nationals accused of being affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang. That ruling allowed removals under the Alien Enemies Act to resume and transferred legal challenges to Texas, where most detainees are held.

Justice Sotomayor warned that the government’s legal arguments would allow it to deport and imprison individuals — even U.S. citizens — without consequence, so long as removals are completed before the courts can act. She also emphasized that the government remains bound by domestic and international law, including its obligations under the Convention Against Torture and U.S. immigration statutes requiring due process.

The Supreme Court’s order instructs the district court to ensure that Abrego Garcia receives all legal protections he would have had if he were still in the United States. That includes notice, the right to counsel, and a hearing before any further removal action is taken.