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A State Department official said on Saturday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man that Donald Trump’s administration illegally deported to El Salvador, is “alive and secure” in the Central American nation’s notorious mega-prison.
“It is my understanding based on official reporting from our Embassy in San Salvador that Abrego Garcia is currently being held in the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador,” Michael Kozak, a senior State Department official, wrote in a court filing under penalty of perjury. “He is alive and secure in that facility.”
As Rolling Stone recently reported, El Salvador’s prison system is effectively “a judicial black hole” rife with “systematic torture.” The Trump administration recently shipped hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to the Central American country’s infamous Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT, without due process. The administration has offered only specious claims that the deported men have ties to gangs — claims that have largely crumbled under scrutiny from journalists and human rights advocates.
Abrego Garcia, who fled gang violence in El Salvador to the U.S. in 2011, was previously granted a “protection from removal” order barring him from being deported back to that country. The administration has claimed his deportation was based on an “administrative error” — but argued that the courts had no jurisdiction to demand Abrego Garcia be brought back.
The conservative-dominated Supreme Court noted on Thursday that his deportation to El Salvador was “illegal,” as the justices ruled unanimously that the Trump administration must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States.
Trump indicated Friday he would follow that directive. “If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back, I would do that. I respect the Supreme Court,” Trump said, adding: “I have great respect for the Supreme Court.”
The Supreme Court, in its order, instructed Trump’s Justice Department to “be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps.” The administration has not yet done so.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday, Abrego Garcia’s case was sent back to District Judge Paula Xinis’ court in Maryland. The Justice Department failed to provide any information about Abrego Garcia’s status and whereabouts on Friday.
The judge then ordered the administration to file daily declarations about Abrego Garcia’s physical location and status, what steps the administration has taken to facilitate his return, and what additional steps it will take to ensure his return.
The administration appeared to file its first declaration late, several minutes after the 5 p.m. deadline. The administration did provide information regarding Abrego Garcia’s status and location, though it did not indicate what steps, if any, it’s taken to bring him back — instead insisting that he is being “detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador.”
Lawyers for Abrego Garcia and his family on Saturday requested that the judge demand the Trump administration explain why it should not be held in contempt for failing to comply with her orders.
The lawyers also asked the judge to specifically order the government to secure his release in El Salvador “pursuant to the contract or arrangement providing for his detention there at the government’s direction,” and arrange his transport back.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers additionally requested that the judge order the administration to “immediately” detail its agreements with El Salvador to hold deportees from the U.S.
El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, is scheduled to visit the Trump White House on Monday.
“Looking forward to seeing President Bukele, of El Salvador, on Monday!” Trump posted Saturday evening on Truth Social, adding: “President Bukele has graciously accepted into his Nation’s custody some of the most violent alien enemies of the World and, in particular, the United States. These barbarians are now in the sole custody of El Salvador, a proud and sovereign Nation, and their future is up to President B and his Government.”
