Topline
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily paused a lower court judge’s order asking the Trump administration to return a Maryland man to the U.S. it mistakenly deported to El Salvador, making the decision after a lower court judge ruled the administration must return the man no later than Monday night.
Key Facts
Roberts issued the pause after the Trump administration filed a request Monday morning for the Supreme Court to lift the order from Judge Paula Xinis, Politico reported.
The request asked the Supreme Court to vacate an injunction by Xinis issued Friday requiring the government to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Monday.
Roberts has called for a response from Garcia’s attorneys by 5 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.
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Who Is Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador in 2011 when he was 16 after facing threats from gang members, according to court filings. He lives in Maryland with his wife, who is a U.S. citizen, and they have a 5-year-old son. He had been working as a full-time sheet metal apprentice and his attorney has maintained he has no criminal record in the U.S. or El Salvador.
Why Was Kilmar Abrego Garcia Deported?
Abrego Garcia was arrested by ICE officials on March 12 and sent to El Salvador three days later on one of the controversial flights the Trump administration sent off under the Alien Enemies Act. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said Abrego Garcia was deported because of a “clerical error,” though she said he would not be returning to the U.S. and continued to suggest, without evidence, that he “was a member, actually a leader, of the brutal MS-13 gang.” Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Field Office Director Robert Cerna, however, gave sworn testimony on March 31 that Abrego Garcia’s deportation was “an error” and “an oversight.”
Key Background
Last Friday, Xinis, a district judge in Maryland, ordered the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia by 11:59 EDT Monday. Xinis said the ruling was necessary “to restore him to the status quo and to avoid ongoing irreparable harm resulting from [his] unlawful removal.” The Trump administration tried to argue Xinis had no jurisdiction or authority over the matter because Abrego Garcia was already in El Salvador, but Xinis doubled down on her ruling on Sunday morning, according to Politico. In a 22-page order, she wrote, “defendants seized Abrego Garcia without any lawful authority; held him in three separate domestic detention centers without legal basis; failed to present him to any immigration judge or officer; and forcibly transported him to El Salvador in direct contravention of [immigration law].” Abrego Garcia’s deportation has become a touchstone for President Donald Trump’s deportation of migrants under the Alien Enemies Act, which was deemed unlawful by a judge who ruled the defendants did not have due process. Trump’s team argued the flights took off prior to the judge’s ruling and maintains it acted legally.
Tangent
Around the same time the Trump administration attempted to elevate the battle to the Supreme Court, a 4th Circuit Court judge denied another of the administration’s attempts to avoid the deadline put in place by Xinis on Friday.
Further Reading
Judge Orders Trump Administration To Return Maryland Man Deported To El Salvador (Forbes)
White House Doubles Down On Erroneous Deportation Of Maryland Dad (Forbes)
Did Trump Administration Ignore A Court Order? Judge Demands Trump Officials Explain (Forbes)