The US Supreme Court has sided with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man from Maryland who was wrongly sent back to El Salvador last month. This happened because of a mistake made by the government. An immigration judge had already decided that sending him to El Salvador was dangerous because he might face harm from a gang.
Kilmar was deported after being held in the US for over ten years. He entered the US illegally in 2011. Even though local police thought he might be involved with gangs based on his clothes, an immigration judge found he was not connected to any gang and had granted him protection from being sent back.
Now, Kilmar is held in a tough prison in El Salvador with bad conditions. The Supreme Court told the government to help bring him back home and to make sure his case is treated fairly, as if he had never been sent away. US District Judge Paula Xinis gave the government a deadline to bring him back, but Chief Justice John Roberts put a pause on that deadline for now.
The justices emphasized that the government must share its plan to bring Kilmar back soon. The Department of Justice commented that judges should respect the government’s choices regarding how they handle foreign policy.
Although there’s no date for Kilmar’s return yet, this ruling puts pressure on the government to fix the error and help him get back to Maryland.