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The Trump administration on Monday urgently appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to block a lower court order requiring the return of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador. In its emergency filing, the Justice Department argued that U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis exceeded her authority by ordering the government to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the United States. Federal officials have acknowledged that Abrego Garcia should not have been deported, citing an immigration judge’s finding that he likely faced persecution by violent gangs in El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who had lived in Maryland since 2011, was deported in March 2025 to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, despite a 2019 immigration judge’s ruling barring his removal to that country. The government has acknowledged the deportation was an “administrative error.”
The deportation has sparked widespread concern among immigration advocates, as Abrego Garcia had no criminal record and was married to a U.S. citizen with whom he shares a five-year-old child. According to his attorneys, the family’s three children all have special needs.
The Justice Department also confirmed that it had placed government attorney Erez Reuveni on administrative leave following his admission in court that Abrego Garcia’s deportation was a mistake. During the hearing, Reuveni said that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had been aware of the order protecting Abrego Garcia from removal to El Salvador but removed him anyway.
“The facts are conceded—plaintiff Abrego Garcia should not have been removed,” Reuveni stated in court, adding that he had asked the agency why it could not return him but had received no explanation.
Attorney General Pam Bondi later issued a statement asserting that all Justice Department attorneys must “zealously advocate” on behalf of the United States and that any who fail to do so will face consequences.
The Trump administration has maintained that American courts have no jurisdiction to compel the return of someone no longer in U.S. custody. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed without evidence that Abrego Garcia was a gang leader and human trafficker, while Vice President JD Vance incorrectly stated that he had been convicted of MS-13 affiliation.
Abrego Garcia was first detained in Maryland in 2019, where police alleged gang affiliation based on his clothing and a confidential informant’s report. He has denied any ties to criminal organizations, and his attorneys note that he has never lived in New York, where the alleged MS-13 activity occurred.
Though Abrego Garcia’s asylum application was denied, a judge granted him “withholding of removal” status that specifically prohibited deportation to El Salvador due to the risk posed by gangs. Nevertheless, on March 15, he was placed on a deportation flight alongside other Salvadoran and Venezuelan nationals and transferred to the controversial prison facility in El Salvador.
Judge Xinis ruled on April 4 that Abrego Garcia’s detention and removal were unlawful and that he faced “irreparable harm” if not returned to the U.S. The following day, the Justice Department appealed the ruling, setting up a legal battle over the limits of federal immigration enforcement and judicial authority.