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The dispute over the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident mistakenly sent to El Salvador, has sparked intense debate over immigration policy and international cooperation. Garcia was deported despite a court order protecting him, prompting harsh criticism for violating due process. Now, both countries are refusing to facilitate his return, despite a U.S. Supreme Court order.
Context
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who was legally living in Maryland with a work permit, was deported on March 15, 2025, in what the U.S. government initially described as a “administrative error”.
A 2019 immigration court order prohibited his deportation to El Salvador due to fear of gang persecution. However, he was sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum security prison on the outskirts of San Salvador, along with others accused of having ties to gangs.
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the administration Trump “facilitates” the return Garcia, but both U.S. officials and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele have refused to comply with the ruling.
US and El Salvador response
U.S. officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, argue that Garcia's fate lies in El Salvador's hands, as he is a Salvadoran citizen in that country's custody. They assert that the U.S. has no authority to extract him and maintain that his deportation, although procedurally flawed, was justified by alleged ties to the MS-13 gang—allegations Garcia's lawyers deny, citing a lack of credible evidence.
The Department of Homeland Security also indicated that prior protection against deportation no longer applies, as MS-13 has been designated a terrorist organization.
President Bukele said that the requests to return Garcia were “absurd.” He reaffirmed El Salvador's sovereignty over the detainee, who remains in the CECOT under an agreement in which the U.S. pays $1.4T6 million to house deportees.
The Role of International Agreements
Since March 2025, more than 200 migrants—mainly Venezuelans accused of criminal activity—have been sent to the CECOT (Central Anti-Terrorist Organization). This alliance aligns with Bukele's crackdown on gangs, which has imprisoned more than 84,000 people and increased his popularity in the country.
However, amid the Trump administration's rapid deportation efforts, courts have raised questions about individual and constitutional rights, such as due process, which entails fair and established legal procedures, including notice and the opportunity to be heard before a person is deprived of their rights.
Although the Supreme Court allowed the use of the Alien Enemies Act for deportations, it also required court hearings for those affected—a requirement that critics say was not met in Garcia's case.
Garcia's lawyers argue that the government's inaction violates the Supreme Court's directive. Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers, including Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, have called on Bukele to release Garcia, criticizing his disregard for judicial rulings.
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Fountain: Associated Press
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