The United States Supreme Court has issued a temporary pause on a lower court’s deadline requiring the return of Kilmar Garcia, a Maryland resident mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March.
The administrative stay was granted by Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday, according to CNN.
Garcia, a Salvadoran national and father of three, was deported on March 15 due to what authorities admit was “an administrative error.”
Despite a previous immigration judge’s ruling that granted Garcia temporary protection from deportation—citing threats from a gang in El Salvador—he was still removed from the country.
His legal team has argued that the deportation was unlawful and that Garcia should be returned immediately to the United States. “There is no dispute that Abrego Garcia is only in El Salvador because the United States sent him there,” his attorneys told the Supreme Court. “There is likewise no dispute that he is being held only because the United States has requested that he be held. And there is no evidence in the record of this case supporting the government’s contention that it cannot bring him back.”
The Supreme Court’s stay delays a ruling that was supposed to take effect by midnight, following a lower court’s order mandating Garcia’s return.
Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, Garcia’s attorney, expressed confidence in the ongoing legal process. “This is just a temporary administrative stay. We have every confidence that the Supreme Court will resolve this matter as quickly as possible,” he said after the court’s decision.
The Justice Department, while acknowledging the error, has cited logistical difficulties in securing Garcia’s return due to his detention in El Salvador. It has also raised constitutional concerns, arguing that federal courts should not have authority over foreign affairs or the removal of individuals deemed threats to national security.
Garcia’s deportation occurred after a policy shift during the Trump administration, which designated MS-13—a gang linked to violence in Central America—as a foreign terrorist organization. This move prompted a renewed effort to remove individuals perceived as associated or vulnerable to such threats.
The Supreme Court has yet to provide a new deadline but is expected to act quickly in reviewing the case.
