The media would have you believe that President Trump defied a Supreme Court ruling in the deportation case of Kilmar Abrego García, an MS-13 gang member recently returned to El Salvador.
However, his gang affiliation was established by an immigration court back in 2019. The deportation itself is legal.
The only legal question is whether he should have been sent to El Salvador, given that he had “withholding of removal” status due to a credible fear of gang violence.
The Supreme Court has ordered the administration to facilitate his return from El Salvador—but President Nayib Bukele has refused to hand over one of his own citizens, and the United States has no authority to forcibly retrieve him.
The media has completely misrepresented this case, sparking outrage among liberals who claim the man is a victim. They keep referring to him as “a Maryland man,” implying that he is a U.S. citizen. But he is not.
He was a U.S. resident who happened to be living in Maryland. In reality, he is a citizen of El Salvador who entered the United States in 2011 at the age of 16.
In most cases, the U.S. deports individuals to their country of citizenship or, if that’s not possible, to the last country they resided in before entering the U.S. which both instances is El Salvador.
Kilmar Abrego García was deported from the United States to El Salvador on March 15, 2025, after his affiliation with MS-13 was found to violate the terms of his U.S. residency.
The evidence cited by U.S. authorities stemmed from a 2019 immigration judge’s finding that García was affiliated with the MS-13 gang—a conclusion based on information provided by a confidential informant. The judge ruled that the informant’s testimony was sufficient to deny García’s bond request.
This immigration judge denied García’s asylum request because he did not file within one year of arriving in the United States, as required by U.S. immigration law.
However, the judge granted him “withholding of removal,” a narrower form of protection that prevented his deportation to El Salvador due to a credible fear of persecution from another gang. This status allowed him to live and work legally in the U.S. but did not provide a path to permanent residency or citizenship, unlike asylum.
In addition to being a violent transnational criminal organization, MS-13 was officially designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the United States in 2025. As a result, García is now classified as a terrorist, further invalidating his legal right to remain in the country.
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) explicitly states that applicants are ineligible for “withholding of removal” if there are reasonable grounds to believe they have committed serious nonpolitical crimes or are a danger to the security of the United States, including through terrorism.
News outlets argue that Kilmar Abrego García should not have been deported because he was never charged with a crime. However, no criminal offense is necessary.
Gang affiliation—particularly with a violent transnational criminal or terrorist organization—is sufficient legal justification for deportation.
Under U.S. immigration law, lawful permanent residents can be removed from the country if they are determined to pose a threat to public safety or the national interest, even without a criminal conviction.
The media have repeatedly reported that García and his family deny any affiliation with MS-13.
However, there is ample reason to believe that individuals facing deportation—and their families—often deny wrongdoing in an effort to avoid consequences.
Another point frequently raised by the media is that no criminal charges have been filed against him. While this is technically true, U.S. immigration law does not require criminal charges to revoke a visa or lawful residency.
Gang affiliation alone is grounds for removal, regardless of whether a conviction has occurred. The media also claim that García was not given a trial or hearing, but under U.S. law, a full trial is not required to invalidate residency and deport someone in cases involving immigration violations.
After his deportation, Kilmar Abrego García was sent to El Salvador’s high-security Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), consistent with Salvadoran law, which permits detention of individuals linked to designated terrorist groups.
Since MS-13 was declared a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. in 2025, Salvadoran authorities treated his affiliation accordingly.
President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on gangs has transformed El Salvador from one of the world’s most violent countries, with a homicide rate of over 100 per 100,000 in 2015, to one of the safest in Latin America, with a rate of just 2.4 per 100,000 in 2023.
On April 10, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling directing the Trump administration to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego García to the United States.
The Court’s decision followed the administration’s admission that García’s deportation to El Salvador had been an “administrative error” and violated a 2019 court order that specifically barred his removal to that country due to credible threats from gangs.
However, the Court stopped short of mandating that the government “effectuate” his return to the United States.
The Trump administration interpreted the Court’s use of “facilitate” as a directive to assist in Garcia’s release but not to guarantee his return.
They argued that since Garcia is currently under the custody of El Salvador, the U.S. lacks the authority to compel his return.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has refused to release Kilmar Abrego García, stating that he lacks the authority to do so and mocking the U.S. request as tantamount to “smuggling a terrorist” back into the country.
Although the United States and El Salvador have maintained an extradition treaty since 1911, it applies only to individuals facing criminal charges or convictions—not to someone who was deported in error and is not accused of a crime.
Under Salvadoran law, there is no legal precedent or legislative mechanism that permits the president to transfer a Salvadoran citizen to a foreign country outside of formal extradition proceedings.
Furthermore, current Salvadoran policy under Bukele mandates the automatic detention of individuals with verified gang affiliations or gang-related tattoos in the country’s high-security prison system.
Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, Bukele’s policies fall strictly under El Salvador’s domestic jurisdiction, and the United States has no legal authority to interfere in the country’s internal legal processes.
The post Here’s What You Need to Know: Trump Did Not Ignore a Supreme Court Ruling in El Salvador Deportation Case appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.