Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily paused a court order Monday night that required the Trump administration to bring back a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to a dangerous prison in El Salvador.
The man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran national, had legal permission to live and work in the U.S. and was in the process of becoming a licensed sheet metal worker. He has no criminal record and is married to a U.S. citizen. In 2019, an immigration judge ruled he should not be deported because returning to El Salvador could put him at risk of gang violence.
Despite that ruling, immigration authorities deported him last month, calling it an “administrative error.” Abrego Garcia ended up in El Salvador’s Terrorist Confinement Center, a prison known for holding gang members.
A federal judge had ordered the U.S. government to bring him back by midnight Monday, calling the deportation “wholly lawless” and lacking evidence that he was ever involved with gangs like MS-13. The Justice Department pushed back, saying the U.S. no longer had control over him and couldn’t force his return.
The administration quickly asked the Supreme Court to intervene, arguing the lower court overstepped its authority. Chief Justice Roberts granted a temporary pause to give the court more time to consider the case.
Meanwhile, a federal appeals court also criticized the deportation, saying the government clearly made a mistake.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers say the case raises serious concerns about government accountability and warn that other deportations could follow. The Trump administration is also asking the Supreme Court to allow deportations of other migrants to the same prison using a centuries-old wartime law.
Abrego Garcia is still in El Salvador. He is expected to remain there until the Supreme Court makes a final decision.
