President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he wouldn’t return Kilmar Ábrego García to the United States after he was illegally deported to an El Salvadoran prison in a meeting with President Donald Trump earlier this month.
Despite orders from the Supreme Court and public outrage, the Trump administration will not try to return García to the United States.
According to a post on X by the White House, they will “never” bring García back following their meeting with Bukele on April 14.
On March 15, García, who was granted legal protection from deportation in 2019, was taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Before he was taken, García lived in Maryland under a withholding order, which forbade his removal from the United States to El Salvador.
Following García’s deportation, the Trump administration admitted in a court filing that García’s detainment was an “administrative error.”
While the Trump administration acknowledged this error in the court filing, they doubled down on their decision, stating that the deportation was done in “good faith.”
The administration went on to accuse García of being a member of the criminal gang MS-13.
“This was an oversight, and the removal was carried out in good faith based on the existence of a final order or removal and Ábrego García’s purported membership in MS-13,” according to the letter.
When asked about García during the meeting, both Trump and Bukele accused him of being a gang member.
Bukele went on to say that he didn’t have the power to bring García back to the United States, and refused to release him from the El Salvador prison.
“The question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don’t have the power to return him to the United States,” said Bukele.
García’s wife and lawyers strongly denied the Trump administration’s claims.
In a filed suit, García’s lawyers stated that he has no affiliation with MS-13 or any gang and no criminal history. García’s lawyers also confirmed in the suit that he was granted permission to stay in the United States to seek asylum from gang persecution in El Salvador.
García’s deportation sparked immense public concern over the future of immigration rights in the United States.
Attorney Nicole Dillard— an immigration lawyer and professor at Howard University— explained that García’s wrongful deportation sends a message that immigration rights are in a constant state of jeopardy.
“It raises concerns about how constitutional protections are being applied, or in many cases, ignored. When the system allows for such breakdowns, especially with something as serious as deportation, it sends a message that immigrants’ rights are optional rather than guaranteed,” Dillard said.
The Supreme Court released an April 10 decision stating that García’s deportation was unlawful, ordering the Trump administration to work to bring García back into American custody.
Kailey Butler is a second-year student at Howard University and an incoming intern at an immigration law firm. Butler shared similar concerns about the government’s handling of García’s deportation, addressing the lack of due process granted to detainees.
“The lack of due process means people cannot prove their citizenship. Not granting immigrants due process is a justification for the Trump administration and ICE to treat immigrants however they want without regard for their rights,” Butler said.
Since taking office, President Trump has made it clear that his administration plans to carry out “mass deportations” of immigrants, with raids taking place all over the country.
Dillard said that immigrants should know their rights, specifically their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and 14th Amendment rights to due process
With this, Dillard noted the importance of understanding the differences in various immigration warrants.
Regarding what can be done in response to mass deportations, Butler emphasized the importance of community organizing to make obtaining a lawyer more accessible for people requiring support.
“There also needs to be community organizing so that those who are unable to afford a lawyer do not have their constitutional rights violated just because they don’t have the resources to protect themselves,” Butler said.
Copy edited by Aniyah Genama
