U.S. Supreme Court tells Trump administration to promote El Salvadorians’ return wrongly
John Kruzel, Andrew Chung
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday directed President Donald Trump's administration to promote the return of the El Salvador man recognized by the U.S. government, who admitted that the man was deported to El Salvador.
The court's ruling comes after the Justice Department asked the Justice to “promote and implement” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia after an April 4 order ordered by the U.S. District Court, Paula Xinis. The judge has issued the order in response to a lawsuit filed by El Salvadorian immigrant Abrego Garcia, who lives in Maryland and has a work permit since 2019, and his family questioned the legality of his deportation.
In an unsigned ruling, the judge's order “correctly demands that the government 'promotes' the release of Abrego Garcia from the detention center in El Salvador and ensures that his case is handled because if he is not sent incorrectly to El Salvador, his case.”
Meanwhile, the government “should be prepared to share the capabilities regarding the steps it has taken and the prospects for further measures,” the court directed.
Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, Abrego Garcia's lawyer, praised the court's ruling, saying that “the rule of law prevails.”
“The Supreme Court upheld the order of the District Court judge that the government must take Kilma home,” Sandoval Mosenberg said. “Now, they need to stop wasting time and waver.”
While next to Abrego Garcia, the court directed Xinis to clarify that the directive requires “to achieve a “return” of “return” and to consider due regard for respect for the administration’s diplomatic affairs.” The court said the requirement was unclear and could exceed the authority of the judge.
A spokesman for the Justice Department said the court's ruling acknowledged that “the president's exclusive privilege to conduct diplomatic affairs.”
“By pointing out directly to respect for the executive branch, this ruling once again demonstrates that activist judges have no jurisdiction to seize control of the president's power to enforce foreign policy,” the spokesman said.
Abrego Garcia was detained and detained by U.S. immigration and customs law enforcement officers on March 12 and asked about the so-called gang affiliation. He was deported on March 15, with three high-profile deportations above flying to El Salvador once, including so-called Venezuelan gang members.
Justice Department lawyers argued in a Supreme Court summary that the judge's orders demanded that the Trump administration “effective” Abreg Garcia's return, inevitably infringing on the president's power over diplomatic relations and violating the U.S. Constitution's separation of power between its judicial and executive branches.
“The United States does not control the sovereign states in El Salvador, nor can it force El Salvador to follow the bids of federal judges,” the Justice Department lawyer wrote.
The Trump administration was deported from El Salvador on March 15, in which the country was detained in a massive counterterrorism prison under a deal of $6 million to the administration of U.S. President Nayib Bukele.
“No legal basis”
The Supreme Court has a 6-3 Conservative majority. Its three liberal judges issued a statement Thursday, agreeing to the court's ruling, but said they would directly deny the government's request.
“Up to this day, the government has not listed legal basis because Abrego Garcia's unauthorized arrest, evacuation of El Salvador or his imprisonment in the El Salvador prison,” said Freedom Judge Sonia Sonia Sotomayor in a statement.
Sotomayor added that the government has asked “the court’s order allows it to leave Abrego Garcia (no criminal record) Abrego Garcia, with no reason to be recognized by law in El Salvadorian prisons.”
Abrego Garcia married an American citizen who, in addition to his wife's two children's previous relationship, raised an American citizen child. According to Abrego Garcia's lawyer, he has never been charged with any crime, and they denied that the Justice Department's allegation was that he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13.
The Justice Department pointed out in a Supreme Court document on April 7 that despite Abrego Garcia's expulsion from El Salvador, his actual removal was not wrong. The department lawyer wrote that despite the deportation order, the error was to hand him over to El Salvador specifically.
Abrego Garcia received a 2019 verdict in the United States after an immigration judge in the United States determined that he would face persecution from his home country if he returned, which granted him protection from El Salvador.
Justice Department lawyers say Abrego Garcia is no longer eligible for the protection as the Trump administration designated MS-13 as a foreign terrorist organization.
In her ruling, Hinnis found that the 2019 order banning Abrego Garcia from evacuating El Salvador was still in place. She found that his evacuation violated federal immigration laws and possibly violated procedural protections guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
In a written ruling, Hinnis said Abrego Garcia's detention “seems to be totally illegal.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, based in Richmond, Virginia, rejected the government's request for a freeze of a judge's order on April 7.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked the judge's orders, requiring the Trump administration to rehire thousands of fired employees. On Monday, it allowed Trump to use the 1798 law to deport so-called Venezuelan gang members, historically employed only in wartime, but with certain restrictions. On April 4, the court sent Trump's administration to make millions of dollars cuts to teachers' training grants – part of his crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
(Reported by John Kruzel in Washington and Andrew Chung of New York; Editor of Will Dunham)
