The Trump administration confirmed on Saturday that an illegal immigrant, whom it admitted was mistakenly deported from Maryland last month, remains “alive and secure” at an anti-terrorism prison in El Salvador.
At the center of the case is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran citizen who illegally entered the U.S. as a teenager and was arrested in Baltimore on March 12. He was then deported to a maximum security prison used to house deportees in El Salvador.
“It is my understanding based on official reporting from our Embassy in San Salvador that Abrego Garcia is currently being held in the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador,” Michael Kozak, a State Department official, said in a two-page court document filed Saturday evening. “He is alive and secure in that facility. He is detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador.”
The statement was made to comply with U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis’s Friday order that the federal government provide daily updates about the whereabouts and conditions of Abrego Garcia. Xinis also demanded details about the administration’s efforts to return the man to the U.S., but government officials have yet to share substantive details about that.
The judge’s order came one day after the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration must “facilitate” the release of Abrego Garcia. The justices, however, didn’t specify how he should be returned to the U.S. but directed the district judge to “clarify” her order requiring his return.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded on Friday to the Supreme Court’s opinion, saying the justices made it clear that the administration’s responsibility is to “facilitate the return, not to effectuate the return.”
In a previous order, Xinis demanded that his return be both facilitated and effectuated. She set the deadline for his return on April 7, but that was paused when Chief Justice John Roberts intervened to let the Supreme Court consider the administration’s emergency appeal of the judge’s order.
The Trump administration claims Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member but conceded his deportation was made due to an “administrative error.” His attorneys argue there is no evidence suggesting their client was a part of the Salvadoran gang. The man was never charged with or convicted of a crime to justify his removal.
Boarding on Air Force One for the weekend, President Donald Trump said he would comply with the Supreme Court if he was told to bring Abrego Garcia back.
“If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back, I would do that. I respect the Supreme Court. I have great respect for the Supreme Court,” the president said. “I’m not totally well versed as to the specific case, but if they said to bring him back, I would tell them to bring him back.”
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers also submitted a court filing on Saturday, noting Trump’s comments from the day before.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump said he is anticipating Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s Monday visit to the White House. Trump did not mention Abrego Garcia specifically, but wrote that “some of the most violent alien enemies . . . are now in the sole custody of El Salvador, a proud and sovereign Nation” and suggested “their future is up to” Bukele.
“They will never threaten or menace our Citizens again!” Trump concluded his message.
Judge Xinis set a hearing for Tuesday regarding Abrego Garcia, with the intent to learn about the administration’s next steps to facilitate his return.