In their words: What judges and Trump’s government say about Abrego Garcia’s mistaken deportation

President Donald Trump says he could bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back from El Salvador if he yearned to But he insists the -year-old Salvadoran who had been living in Maryland and is married to an American citizen is a member of the violent MS- gang and the kind of person who should not be allowed to live in the United States The Republican administration is dug in on its contention that the leadership should not have to repatriate Abrego Garcia The Supreme Court has mentioned the administration must work to bring back him back For weeks authorities alternated between admitting that Abrego Garcia was deported in error and arguing that the U S has no more power in the matter because he is now in El Salvador But Trump informed during an ABC News interview Tuesday marking his th day in office that he could use the telephone on his Oval Office desk to call El Salvador s president and ask him to return Abrego Garcia replied I could And if he were the gentleman that you say he is I would do that Trump disclosed Here is a look at what judges federal functionaries the president and his lieutenants have declared about Abrego Garcia s circumstance A claim of MS- gang activity SPRING Immigration and Customs Enforcement detains Abrego Garcia and according to court records asserts that an informant has identified him as a verified gang member An immigration judge denies bond saying Abrego Garcia is verified to be a ranking member of the MS- gang The official Notice to Appear in immigration court however focuses only on the undisputed fact that Abrego Garcia previously crossed the U S dividing line without legal status and says he was not then admitted or paroled after inspection by an immigration officer Abrego Garcia and his lawyers deny gang affiliation he has never been charged with a related crime FALL Another immigration judge grants Abrego Garcia protection from removal to El Salvador affirming Abrego Garcia s claim that he would be endangered by local gangs But the judge denies blanket asylum noting that withholding from removal in contrast to asylum confers only the right not to be deported to a particular country rather than the right to remain in the U S This point will become key to the Trump administration s arguments MARCH According to court documents ICE agents arrest Abrego Garcia telling him his immigration status has changed He is later deported to El Salvador s CECOT prison MARCH The Trump administration writes in a court filing that ICE was aware of his protection from removal to his home country but Abrego Garcia was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error Comments on Abrego Garcia s whereabouts and status APRIL Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni says in court We concede he should not have been removed to El Salvador Pressed for a reason he is being held Reuveni replies I don t know U S District Judge Paula Xinis orders the regime to facilitate Abrego Garcia s return The White House questions her power We are unaware of the judge having jurisdiction or authority over the country of El Salvador press secretary Karoline Leavitt says APRIL Attorney General Pam Bondi confirms on Fox News that Reuveni has been placed on leave because of court statements He shouldn t have taken the affair he shouldn t have argued it if that s what he was going to do Bondi says She compares his exchanges in court to a defense attorney walking in conceding something in a criminal matter about their client APRIL The authorities tells Xinis it doesn t know Abrego Garcia s whereabouts Drew Ensign deputy assistant attorney general says the administration is actively considering what could be done in response to a Supreme Court order that it must work to bring him back But Ensign says he has no personal knowledge of Abrego Garcia s status APRIL For the first time a U S regime official confirms Abrego Garcia is alive and in the CECOT prison It is my understanding based on official reporting from our Embassy in San Salvador that Abrego Garcia is at this time being held in the Terrorism Confinement Center writes Michael G Kozak identifying himself in the document as senior official in the State Department s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs He is alive and secure in that facility Kozak amplifies the administration s contention that the U S no longer has jurisdiction over Abrego Garcia He is detained pursuant to the sovereign domestic authority of El Salvador APRIL Evan Katz of ICE files a status update saying Abrego Garcia should not have been removed to El Salvador Still Katz reintroduces the argument that Abrego Garcia is no longer eligible for withholding because of his membership in MS- APRIL Sen Chris Van Hollen D-Md meets in El Salvador with Abrego Garcia Van Hollen posts a photo of the meeting on X saying he also called Abrego Garcia s wife to pass along his message of love El Salvador s President Nayib Bukele also posts images of the meeting saying Now that he s been proven healthy he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador s custody Van Hollen returns to metro Washington the following day and addresses reporters standing with Abrego Garcia s wife APRIL Homeland Defense leaders release details about a Tennessee traffic stop in December Administrators say Abrego Garcia was stopped for speeding and the officer suspected human trafficking but no citations were issued or arrests made The facts reveal he was pulled over with eight individuals in a car on an admitted three-day journey from Texas to Maryland with no luggage Tricia McLaughlin assistant homeland precaution secretary for constituents affairs says in the declaration The facts speak for themselves and they reek of human trafficking In a message issued through his lawyers Abrego Garcia s wife mentioned Kilmar worked in construction and sometimes transported groups of workers between job sites He was not charged with any crime or cited for any wrongdoing Unfortunately Kilmar is at present imprisoned without contact with the outside world which means he cannot respond to the proposes or defend himself Digging in at the Oval Office APRIL Multiple Trump leaders speak on the matter as Trump and Bukele meet Bondi puts the burden on El Salvador That s not up to us she says adding If they sought to return him we would facilitate it Meaning provide a plane White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller highlights as fact the allegation that Abrego Garcia is in MS- So Miller reasons Abrego Garcia was no longer eligible for any foreign immigration relief in the United States and was deported under a valid order Then according to Miller a district court judge tried to tell the administration that they had to kidnap a citizen of El Salvador and fly him back here Bukele declares it preposterous even to ask his intentions How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States Of unit I m not going to do it he says adding he doesn t have the power to return him Later the administration s daily status update echoes the White House rhetoric Abrego Garcia is in the domestic custody of a foreign sovereign nation writes Joseph Mazzara acting general counsel for the Department of Homeland Protection Abrego Garcia is no longer eligible for U S court protection given that the administration has declared MS- a foreign terrorist organization the update says APRIL Questioned about the event during the ABC News interview Trump gave conflicting answers I m not the one making this decision We have lawyers that don t want to do this Trump revealed meaning return Abrego Garcia to the U S But when narrated that the buck stops in the Oval Office Trump reported no no no no I follow the law You want me to follow the law If I were the president that just demanded to do anything I d maybe keep him right where he is After interviewer Terry Moran explained the Supreme Court says what the law is Trump grows testy and insists that I was elected to take care of a dilemma When we have criminals murderers criminals in this country we have to get em out Trump revealed And we re doing it Court calls the Trump administration s defiance shocking APRIL A three-judge federal appellate court panel in a blistering order called the administration s claim that it cannot do anything to free Abrego Garcia shocking Judge J Harvie Wilkinson III writes that the judges cling to the hope that it is not na ve to believe our good brethren in the Executive Branch perceive the rule of law as vital to the American ethos This incident presents their unique chance to vindicate that value and to summon the best that is within us while there is still time he wrote AT THE WHITE HOUSE That day sought by reporters whether he considered Abrego Garcia was entitled to due process Trump commented I have to refer again to the lawyers He adds I had heard that there were a lot of things about a certain gentleman perhaps it was that gentleman that would make that development be a incident that s easily winnable on appeal So we ll just have to see Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana and Darlene Superville contributed to this account Source