Chicago – April 04, 2025
A U.S. judge ruled on Friday that the Trump administration must bring a Maryland man, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, back to the United States within three days. This decision is another legal challenge for the administration’s strict deportation policies.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant who had been living legally in the U.S. with a work permit, was wrongly sent to El Salvador last month. The deportation was part of a larger operation where people were flown out of the U.S. because of alleged connections to violent gangs. However, it was later acknowledged that Abrego Garcia should not have been deported.
The U.S. government argued that it did not have the legal power to bring him back, but Abrego Garcia’s lawyers disagreed. Andrew Rossman, a lawyer on his legal team, said, “They put him there, they can bring him back.”
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that the government must take action to return him to the U.S. by April 7. However, the Justice Department plans to appeal the decision to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded by saying that the judge should contact the president of El Salvador, as they believe the judge does not have authority over the country.
At the court hearing, Abrego Garcia’s lawyer, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, argued that there was no legal reason for his client’s deportation.
