Trump Admin Says It Lacks Authority to Return Deported Man From El Salvador

The administration cited El Salvador President Naive Bukere’s remarks at the White House on April 14th, excluding the man’s return.

The Trump administration told a federal judge on Monday that he had no power to bring back Kilmer Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant who was illegally deported to his home country of El Salvador, as he was already under foreign control.

In a court filed in the US District Court in Maryland, Joseph Mazzarra, acting advisor to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said the department had taken steps to remove “domestic obstacles,” but “has no authority to forcefully extract foreigners from the domestic custody of foreign sovereign states.”

Mazzarra quoted El Salvador President Naive Buquere’s remarks at the White House on April 14th.

“I hope that I am not proposing to smuggle terrorists into the United States,” Bukel told reporters, as he said in a court filing. “How can I smuggle terrorists into the US? Of course I’m not going to do that. The question is ridiculous.”

Buquel was in the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump. Their discussion focused on economic and national security cooperation on transition policies.

Trump administration officials said it would be up to El Salvador to hand over their citizens, Abrego Garcia, to US officials, after the Supreme Court ruling directed the US government to promote his return.

“If they want to return him, it’s up to El Salvador,” Attorney General Pam Bondy said at the White House meeting. “That’s not up to us.”

The Epoch Times has contacted Abrego Garcia’s attorneys for comment and did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Abrego Garcia, from El Salvador, was arrested in the US in March and deported to El Salvador in March after U.S. authorities described him as his “prominent role” in the MS-13 gang, a foreign terrorist organization designated by the US.

The immigration judge previously determined that there was strong evidence that the man was a member of MS-13, but another judge later issued withholding for removal, preventing Abrego Garcia from being deported over concerns that it was not safe in El Salvador due to gang violence.

In previous submissions, US officials said Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador for administrative errors.

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers accused officials of unwillingness and recently ordered the judge to “take all available steps to release Abrego Garcia to Maryland and return it.”

This includes requesting the release of Abrego Garcia from El Salvador, providing him with air transport and sending him to accompany him upon release so that he can safely reach the aircraft that will return him to the United States, the lawyer said.

A government lawyer argued on April 13 that “federal courts do not have the power to direct the administrative department to engage in diplomatic relations in a particular way, or to engage with foreign sovereignty in a particular way.”

The Trump administration deported hundreds of illegal immigrants accused of involvement in criminal gangs after Trump signed a declaration on March 15th that evoked alien enemy law.

In March, El Salvador had agreed to hold around 300 suspects of the Venezuela Tren de Aragua gang at Mega Prison for a year in exchange for agreed payments.

Trump’s deportation efforts face legal pushbacks. After the Supreme Court overridden the Washington court order, the administration has already spinned a plane carrying around 300 gang members on its way to El Salvador as three new judges from Colorado, New York and Texas ruled to restrict the use of state alien enemies.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.