The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the Trump administration’s emergency appeal and upheld a lower court ruling requiring the government to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident wrongfully deported to El Salvador, where he is currently imprisoned.
Key Developments:
- Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, had an immigration court order protecting him from deportation due to the threat of gang violence in El Salvador.
- Despite that order, he was mistakenly deported and is now jailed in a notorious prison in El Salvador.
- U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the government to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return by midnight Monday, calling his deportation “wholly lawless.”
- The Supreme Court upheld this order with no noted dissents, stating the government must ensure the case proceeds as it would have had the illegal deportation not occurred.
- The justices also instructed that the order be clarified to avoid overstepping executive authority in foreign affairs, since Garcia is being held abroad.
Legal & Humanitarian Reactions:
- The Trump administration conceded the deportation was an error, but argued it could not reverse it.
- The liberal justices sharply criticized this claim. Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned that accepting the government’s position would imply it can “deport and incarcerate any person, including U.S. citizens, without legal consequence.”
- Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, expressed hope and resilience: “I am anxiously waiting for Kilmar to be here in my arms… I will continue fighting until my husband is home.”
- Attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenburg praised the decision, saying, “Tonight, the rule of law prevailed.”
This decision marks a significant pushback on executive overreach in immigration enforcement and underscores the power of judicial oversight in safeguarding individual rights — even amid politically charged debates over national security and immigration.
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