US Supreme Court pauses order requiring return of deported man

The Supreme Court has granted a request by the Trump administration to temporarily block a lower court order requiring that a deported Salvadorian man be returned to the US.

Chief Justice John Roberts agreed to pause a ruling that Kilmar Abrego Garcia should be brought back from El Salvador by midnight on Monday.

The government has said Mr Garcia was deported on 15 March due to an "administrative error", although they also allege he is a member of the MS-13 gang, which his lawyer denies.

In its emergency appeal to America's highest court, the Trump administration argued the Maryland judge lacked authority to issue the order and that US officials cannot compel El Salvador to return Mr Garcia.

US Solicitor General D John Sauer wrote in his emergency court filing: "The United States does not control the sovereign nation of El Salvador, nor can it compel El Salvador to follow a federal judge's bidding."

He added: "The Constitution charges the president, not federal district courts, with the conduct of foreign diplomacy and protecting the nation against foreign terrorists, including by effectuating their removal."

US Attorney General Pamela Bondi welcomed Justice Roberts' stay, and said the administration will "continue to fight this case and protect the executive branch from judicial overreach".

Chief Justice Roberts' administrative stay on Monday afternoon will allow the Supreme Court time to consider the case.

Mr Garcia, 29, is being held at a maximum security prison in El Salvador known as the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), along with hundreds of other men the US has deported over allegations of criminal and gang activity.

His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, is a US citizen and has called for his release. He was reportedly working as a sheet metal worker when he was detained last month.

Mr Garcia entered the US illegally as a teenager. In 2019 he was arrested with three other men in Maryland and detained by federal immigration authorities.

During a hearing before an immigration judge, the homeland security department said a "proven and reliable source" had confirmed that Mr Garcia had ties to MS-13, a street gang that started in Los Angeles but with roots in El Salvador.

But Mr Garcia's attorneys argued that their client had no gang connections or criminal history.

Another immigration judge granted Mr Garcia protection from deportation in 2019 on the grounds that he might be at risk of persecution from local gangs in his home country.

The family's lawyer, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, called Mr Garica's deportation last month "the equivalent of a forcible expulsion".

Responding to the chief justice's order on Monday afternoon, Mr Sandoval-Moshenberg said: "This is just a temporary administrative stay, we have full confidence that the Supreme Court will resolve this matter as quickly as possible."

Last week, US District Judge Paula Xinis, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, grilled the Trump administration's attorney during a hearing over the deportation.

Justice department lawyer Erez Reuveni told her that Mr Garcia "should not have been removed".

Over the weekend, Bondi announced Mr Reuveni – a 15-year veteran of the department – had been placed on paid administrative leave for failing to "zealously advocate on behalf of the United States".

In a scathing opinion released on Sunday, Judge Xinis found that the US government's error "shocks the conscience".

She said the government had acted "without any lawful authority" and was holding Mr Garcia in "direct contravention" of US law.

The Trump administration escalated the case to a Maryland appeals court, which denied their request to stay Judge Xinis' order.

The Supreme Court then issued its ruling just hours ahead of the deadline to return Mr Garcia by 23:59 EDT on Monday night (03:59 GMT Tuesday).

The Trump administration had called that deadline "impossible".