Donald Trump has commented on the situation concerning the mistaken deportation of a Maryland father to El Salvador’s notorious mega-jail due to an administrative error.
Last month, over 250 individuals accused of committing crimes in the United States were deported to El Salvador’s Center for Terrorism Confinement. This facility is infamous for housing violent criminals, including gang members and mass murderers.
The Center for Terrorism Confinement, recognized as the largest prison in the Americas, has the capacity to hold up to 40,000 inmates.
The Trump administration approved the deportation order, asserting that many of the deportees had associations with gangs like the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua or MS-13.
However, Trump’s team has acknowledged making a mistake by deporting Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national with protected legal status in the U.S., to the prison.
Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia had been granted protected status by an immigration judge in 2019, which should have prevented his deportation.
Despite admitting the error, authorities are facing difficulties in securing his release from Salvadoran custody and returning him to the U.S.
The Supreme Court has intervened with an order to ‘facilitate and effectuate’ his return, ruling 9-0 to uphold the lower court’s directive to the administration.
This ruling implies that Abrego Garcia must be released to ensure proper handling of his case as if he had not been wrongfully deported.
In an interview with TIME, Trump addressed the ongoing delay.
When asked if he was ‘disobeying the Supreme Court’ by not facilitating the man’s return, Trump replied: “I leave that to my lawyers. I give them no instructions. They feel that the order said something very much different from what you’re saying. But I leave that to my lawyers.”
He further stated, “I don’t make that decision.”
When questioned about contacting El Salvador President Nayib Bukele to request Abrego Garcia’s release, Trump reiterated that he hadn’t personally asked but noted that Bukele ‘said he wouldn’t.’
Trump remarked, “Nobody asked me to ask him [Bukele] that question, except you,” addressing the reporter.
Abrego Garcia’s legal representatives have previously indicated that he fled gang violence over a decade ago, but ICE arrested him due to an administrative error in March, alleging his involvement with MS-13.
Regarding whether Abrego Garcia ‘deserves his day in court,’ Trump commented on his past, suggesting it was not without blemishes.
Trump claimed Abrego Garcia had MS-13 tattoos on his knuckles, stating, “This is no longer just a nice, wonderful man from Maryland, which people, which the fake news had me and other people for a period of time believing.”
Nevertheless, Trump noted that bringing Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. for a retrial would not ‘bother’ him, although he emphasized that the matter rests with his legal team.