A high-stakes standoff between the U.S. Supreme Court, the Trump administration, and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has erupted over the fate of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national and alleged MS-13 gang member who was deported from Maryland to El Salvador in March despite a court order protecting him from removal.

The Deportation and Legal Backdrop

Abrego Garcia, who entered the U.S. as a teenager in 2011 fleeing gang violence, had been living in Maryland with his American wife and child. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him “withholding of removal” status—a rare protection similar to asylum—after finding credible his fear of persecution by gangs if returned to El Salvador. Despite this, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported him on March 15, 2025, sending him to CECOT, El Salvador’s notorious maximum-security prison for alleged terrorists and gang members.

The deportation was quickly acknowledged by the Justice Department as an “administrative error.” Abrego Garcia’s lawyers filed suit, and on April 10, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that his removal was illegal, ordering the administration to “facilitate” his return. The Court rejected the government’s argument that it had no jurisdiction to compel El Salvador to return him, with Justice Sotomayor warning that such logic would allow the government to “deport and incarcerate any person, including U.S. citizens, without legal consequence, so long as it does so before a court can intervene”.

Executive Defiance and International Tensions

Despite the Supreme Court’s order, President Trump and his administration have refused to take further action, insisting that foreign policy—not judicial rulings—dictates the handling of such cases. White House officials, including Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, have argued that the Court’s mandate only requires the U.S. to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return if El Salvador chooses to release him, not to “effectuate” his return. “Neither the Secretary of State or President could be compelled by anybody to forcibly retrieve a citizen of El Salvador from El Salvador,” Miller said, reiterating the administration’s claim that Abrego Garcia is a “senior member” of MS-13.

El Salvador’s President Bukele, meanwhile, has flatly refused to return Abrego Garcia, citing national security concerns and denying he has the authority to “smuggle a terrorist into the United States.” In a pointed exchange at the White House, Bukele told reporters, “I do not possess the authority to send him back to the United States”. Bukele’s government has also benefited from a U.S. arrangement that pays El Salvador to house deported migrants in CECOT, further complicating the diplomatic calculus.

Disputed Allegations and Human Rights Concerns

The Trump administration’s justification for the deportation rests on allegations—largely unproven in court—that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. These claims stem from a 2019 police informant’s tip and have been repeated by administration officials, but Abrego Garcia has no criminal record in the U.S. or El Salvador, and his family and attorneys vehemently deny any gang affiliation. Immigration judges previously found his testimony credible and granted him protection based on a well-founded fear of persecution by rival gangs.

Human rights advocates warn that CECOT is notorious for violence and abuse, and that Abrego Garcia faces grave danger there. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg recently credited evidence that detainees at CECOT are “highly likely to face immediate and intentional life-threatening harm at the hands of state actors”.

Broader Implications

The Abrego Garcia case has become a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over immigration enforcement, executive power, and the rule of law. The Trump administration’s defiance of a unanimous Supreme Court order has alarmed legal experts and immigrant advocates, who see it as a challenge to judicial authority and due process. Meanwhile, the diplomatic standoff with El Salvador underscores the complexities of international cooperation on migration and security.

As of this week, Abrego Garcia remains imprisoned in El Salvador, with no resolution in sight. The case continues to draw national and international scrutiny, raising urgent questions about the limits of executive power, the reach of the courts, and the fate of those caught in the crossfire of immigration policy and geopolitics.