Supreme Court Backs Judge’s Order to Fix ICE’s Deportation Blunder
Justices Reject Trump Admin Case to Block Return of Wrongly Deported Man
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday largely upheld a federal judge’s order directing the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, where he is held in a maximum-security prison due to what the government concedes was an “administrative error.”
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In an unsigned opinion with no recorded dissents, the court rejected the administration’s bid to block the ruling by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland, which Chief Justice John Roberts had temporarily paused Monday to allow further review. The justices affirmed Xinis’ authority to require the government to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release from El Salvadoran custody and ensure his immigration case is processed as it would have been had he not been improperly removed. However, the court remanded the case to Xinis for clarification on her directive that the government “effectuate” his return, citing the need to balance judicial oversight with deference to the Executive Branch in foreign affairs.
Abrego Garcia, 29, was born in El Salvador and entered the United States undocumented as a teenager to escape gang violence. Since 2019, he has lived near Washington, D.C., with his U.S.-citizen wife and their three U.S.-citizen children. Granted withholding of removal in 2019—a protection against deportation to El Salvador due to threats from gangs—he was nonetheless detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on March 12, 2025. He was sent to Texas and, on March 24, deported to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a facility known for harsh conditions, including stripping, shackling, and head-shaving of detainees. Neither his wife nor his lawyers have had contact with him since.
Xinis ordered Abrego Garcia’s return by April 7, declaring the government “had no legal authority to arrest him, no justification to detain him, and no grounds to send him to El Salvador—let alone deliver him into one of the most dangerous prisons in the Western Hemisphere.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit upheld her ruling, with Judge Stephanie Thacker denouncing the deportation as a “blatant violation of due process.”
The Trump administration, represented by Solicitor General D. John Sauer, argued Xinis’ order was “unprecedented,” claiming it improperly forced the U.S. to negotiate with a foreign government under an impossible deadline. Sauer also reiterated allegations that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, a claim Xinis dismissed as baseless, noting it rested on his ownership of a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie and an uncorroborated tip tying him to a New York gang clique, despite no evidence he lived there.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers countered that he “has never been charged with a crime, in any country,” and is imprisoned “solely at the behest of the United States” due to a “Kafka-esque mistake.” They urged the court to uphold Xinis’ order to halt “ongoing irreparable harm.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, wrote separately, stating she would have denied the government’s request entirely. Sotomayor emphasized that Abrego Garcia is entitled to due process, including notice and a hearing, and noted the government’s established policy of facilitating returns in similar immigration cases.
The court acknowledged that the April 7 deadline for Abrego Garcia’s return had passed due to Roberts’ administrative stay, rendering part of the government’s request moot. On remand, Xinis is expected to clarify the scope of her order while the administration must provide updates on efforts to secure Abrego Garcia’s release.
The case has drawn attention to tensions between judicial authority and the Trump administration’s immigration policies, with advocates like CASA praising Xinis’ ruling as a check on unlawful deportations. As Abrego Garcia remains out of contact, his family awaits resolution, and the case’s outcome could set a precedent for judicial oversight of immigration enforcement.
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