The Trump administration admitted Monday that it mistakenly deported a Maryland father to El Salvador’s prison housing some of Latin America’s most notorious gang members, but officials said U.S. courts don’t have the authority to right the wrong.

Salvadoran national Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was one of the dozens of people flown to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center on March 15, shortly after federal immigration agents said they arrested him due to his “prominent role in MS-13.”

But Mr. Garcia has no ties to the international gang, according to his attorneys, and was granted protected status by a U.S. judge in 2019 after fleeing violence in his home country.

“Through administrative error, Abrego Garcia was removed from the United States to El Salvador,” Robert Cerna, an acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office director, said in a declaration. “This was an oversight, and the removal was carried out in good faith based on the existence of a final order of removal and Abrego Garcia’s purported membership in MS-13.” 

ICE officials acknowledged in the declaration, which was first reported by The Atlantic, that Mr. Garcia was added to the flight manifest after other deportees had to be removed for other reasons.

U.S. authorities said they can’t retrieve Mr. Garcia because he’s in Salvadoran custody and is subject to the Central American country’s jurisdiction.

El Salvador’s CECOT prison has become a landing spot for gang members affiliated with MS-13 and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua who are caught in the U.S.

More than 250 gang members captured by U.S. authorities have been sent to the prison, which can hold up to 40,000 inmates.

• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.