US Supreme Court Pauses Order to Return Deported Salvadoran in Controversial Trump-Era Immigration Case
The Supreme Court of the United States has granted the Trump administration’s request to temporarily halt a Maryland judge’s order requiring the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran man deported last month under disputed circumstances.
Chief Justice John Roberts issued the administrative stay on Monday, hours before the government’s deadline to repatriate Mr Garcia, who is currently imprisoned in El Salvador’s Cecot facility, a maximum-security complex known for housing deportees accused of gang affiliations.
Federal officials admitted Garcia’s deportation on 15 March was an “administrative error”, yet they maintain he is a member of MS-13, an accusation his attorney denies. A 2019 immigration judge had granted Garcia protection due to risk of persecution, complicating the legality of his removal.
In its emergency filing, US Solicitor General D. John Sauer asserted that federal courts lack authority to compel foreign governments to reverse deportations, stating that foreign diplomacy and national security fall under presidential powers.
Meanwhile, Mr Garcia’s lawyer, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, described the deportation as “forcible expulsion,” urging the court to uphold human rights and the rule of law.
Judge Paula Xinis, who ordered Garcia’s return, sharply criticized the administration’s actions, calling them unlawful and “shocking to the conscience.” Her ruling has since been put on hold pending Supreme Court review.
The case has now become a flashpoint in broader debates over immigration enforcement, executive power, and judicial oversight, especially as Trump’s administration continues to defend its hardline stance on deportations under wartime-era legal authority.
The outcome of this case could set a major legal precedent on the limits of federal power in deportation matters—particularly in situations involving administrative mishandling and international human rights concerns.
