CV NEWS FEED // Chief Justice John Roberts late Monday temporarily halted a judge’s order that would have forced the Trump administration to retrieve a deported man from a prison in El Salvador, blocking the deadline just hours before it took effect.
Last week, US District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the Trump administration to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia—a Salvadoran national who entered the U.S. illegally and had been living in Maryland—by Monday night.
In an emergency Supreme Court filing Monday, Solicitor General John Sauer called Xinis’ mandate “patently unlawful,” warning that it exceeds the authority of the judicial branch and wrongly attempts to direct US foreign operations.
“The United States does not control the sovereign nation of El Salvador, nor can it compel El Salvador to follow a federal judge’s bidding,” court documents state.
The administration says Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported last month due to a clerical error, despite a 2019 immigration ruling that protected him from removal because of potential gang violence.
While Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged the deportation was mishandled, she emphasized last week that Abrego Garcia, a confirmed MS-13 gang member, is a threat to American safety.
“We also have credible intelligence proving that this individual was involved in human trafficking,” she told reporters.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers, however, claim he has no criminal record. Roberts’ intervention calls for a response from his lawyers by Tuesday evening.