Last Month, President Trump began his mass deportations, and those deported were Venezuelan Immigrants suspected of being “gang members”. So far, over 200 have been deported to El Salvador. Despite a US Federal Judge James Boasberg ordering the deportations to be stopped, the immigrants were deported to El Salvador regardless. After arriving in the country, all the prisoners were relocated to a maximum security prison where visitations, recreation, and education are prohibited. Among immigrants deported was a man named Kalmar Aberego Garcia, who had immigrated to the United States, was illegally deported.
In 2011, 16-year-old Aberego Garcia immigrated illegally from El Salvador to America after his gang members threatened to extort money from his family’s business. Later in 2019, an immigrant Judge withheld his removal, meaning he could not be deported back to El Salvador. But on March 12, he was arrested; immigration and customs enforcement claimed he was in the company of other gang members. However, since Aberego Garcia came to America, he has had no criminal record and still doesn’t. Later in March, Aberego Garcia and his family sued various Trump-appointed officials, and US District Judge Paula Xinis ruled his removal was “an illegal act”.
The judges’ ruling meant it ordered the government to return Aberego Garcia to the US by March 31st. After appeals, the Supreme Court decided to put Judge Xinix on hold and back her decision without setting a new deadline for Aberego Garcia to return. The Trump administration stated Aberego Garcia’s deportation was an “administrative error,” and Trump told reporters, “If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back, I would do that. I respect the Supreme Court,”. However, Trump himself contradicted this statement as he met with his Attorney General Pam Bondi, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to argue they no longer had custody over Aberego Garcia, meaning he couldn’t be returned.
On April 14th, Trump held a meeting with El Salvador President Nayik Bukele, and he stated Aberego Garcia couldn’t be returned to the U.S. Bukele later stated, “I don’t have the power to return him to the United States” Bukele remarked, “How could I smuggle a terrorist unto the United States?” he added. Bukele has described himself as “world’s coolest dictator” and he has become a key ally in Trump’s controversial deportation plans.
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/14/trump-doj-return-man-wrongly-deported-el-salvador
