A high-profile deportation case has come to a legal standstill.
While visiting the White House on Monday, El Salvador’s President Bukele said he won’t return Kilmar Abrego Garcia—a man the U.S. government mistakenly deported to an El Salvador mega-prison.
The issue has sparked debate. Abrego Garcia—who’s married to an American and has a five-year-old in Maryland—was legally protected from being deported to El Salvador specifically (due to local gang threats); critics argue that if he’s not returned, there’s no penalty for illegal deportations.
The Trump Admin says that Abrego Garcia came to the U.S. illegally, has alleged MS-13 gang ties, and was allowed to be deported (just not to El Salvador). They argue there’s no way to fix the administrative error because U.S. courts have no jurisdiction over a Salvadoran in an El Salvador prison.
