MontyPython
Dorothy Mantooth is a saint!
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2019
- Messages
- 9,810
- Likes
- 13,534
Mods, I think this issue is worthy of its own thread given a Constitutional crisis is possible...
Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia[a] is a citizen of El Salvador who was illegally deported from the United States on March 15, 2025, in what the Trump administration called "an administrative error." He was subsequently imprisoned without trial in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, despite never having been charged with or convicted of a crime in either country. His lawyers argue that his imprisonment is part of an agreement to detain U.S. deportees there in exchange for payment, a claim that was confirmed by U.S. senator Chris Van Hollen, who had spoken with Félix Ulloa, El Salvador's vice president. The administration has defended the deportation in the press by accusing him of membership in the MS-13 gang, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization—an accusation based on a bail determination made during a 2019 immigration court proceeding, which Abrego Garcia contested.
Abrego Garcia grew up in El Salvador and then immigrated illegally to the United States in 2011 at the age of 16 to escape gang threats. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him "withholding of removal" status—a rare alternative to asylum—due to the danger he faced from gang violence if returned to El Salvador. This status allowed him to live and work legally in the United States. At the time of his deportation in 2025, he was living in Maryland with his wife and children, all American citizens, and was complying with annual check-ins with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
On April 10, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Abrego Garcia's removal to El Salvador was illegal. The Court rejected the administration's defense, which claimed it lacked the legal authority to exercise jurisdiction over El Salvador and secure his return. Justice Sotomayor noted that this argument implied the government "could deport and incarcerate any person, including U.S. citizens, without legal consequence, so long as it does so before a court can intervene."
The Supreme Court required the U.S. to "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's release but stopped short of a lower court's directive to both "facilitate and effectuate" his return. The administration interpreted "facilitate" to mean it is not obligated to arrange his return and can meet its obligation by admitting him into the U.S. and providing a plane if El Salvador chooses to release him. President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has refused to do so, stating that he would not "smuggle a terrorist into the United States".
Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia[a] is a citizen of El Salvador who was illegally deported from the United States on March 15, 2025, in what the Trump administration called "an administrative error." He was subsequently imprisoned without trial in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, despite never having been charged with or convicted of a crime in either country. His lawyers argue that his imprisonment is part of an agreement to detain U.S. deportees there in exchange for payment, a claim that was confirmed by U.S. senator Chris Van Hollen, who had spoken with Félix Ulloa, El Salvador's vice president. The administration has defended the deportation in the press by accusing him of membership in the MS-13 gang, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization—an accusation based on a bail determination made during a 2019 immigration court proceeding, which Abrego Garcia contested.
Abrego Garcia grew up in El Salvador and then immigrated illegally to the United States in 2011 at the age of 16 to escape gang threats. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him "withholding of removal" status—a rare alternative to asylum—due to the danger he faced from gang violence if returned to El Salvador. This status allowed him to live and work legally in the United States. At the time of his deportation in 2025, he was living in Maryland with his wife and children, all American citizens, and was complying with annual check-ins with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
On April 10, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Abrego Garcia's removal to El Salvador was illegal. The Court rejected the administration's defense, which claimed it lacked the legal authority to exercise jurisdiction over El Salvador and secure his return. Justice Sotomayor noted that this argument implied the government "could deport and incarcerate any person, including U.S. citizens, without legal consequence, so long as it does so before a court can intervene."
The Supreme Court required the U.S. to "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's release but stopped short of a lower court's directive to both "facilitate and effectuate" his return. The administration interpreted "facilitate" to mean it is not obligated to arrange his return and can meet its obligation by admitting him into the U.S. and providing a plane if El Salvador chooses to release him. President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has refused to do so, stating that he would not "smuggle a terrorist into the United States".
