Trump, Bukele say they won't return mistakenly deported man to US

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said Monday that he has no plans to return a Maryland man wrongfully deported to a prison in his country, telling reporters, “Of course I’m not going to do it.”

Bukele’s Oval Office meeting with President Trump was the first since the Supreme Court ruled last week that the U.S. must “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

However, both Trump and Bukele suggested they don’t have the power to return the Maryland man and Salvadoran national to the U.S., with several Trump administration figures gathered in the office mischaracterizing the substance of the court's order.

“How could I return him to the United States? I smuggle him to the United States? Of course I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous,” Bukele said, going on to refer to Abrego Garcia as a terrorist.

“I don’t have the power to return him to the United States. I’m not releasing — I mean, we're not very fond of releasing terrorists into our country,” he added, saying El Salvador is no longer the murder capital of the world.

Before Bukele spoke, Trump and a number of his aides suggested the decision would rest with El Salvador.

“That's up to El Salvador if they want to return him. That's not up to us,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

Trump repeatedly bashed CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins and the network for asking about Abrego Garcia.

“How long do we have to answer this question from you? Why don't you just say, ‘Isn't it wonderful that we're keeping criminals out of our country?'” Trump remarked.

The Supreme Court ruled last week that the government must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return.

“The order properly requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,” the Supreme Court ruled, referencing a lower court decision. 

“The District Court should clarify its directive, with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs. For its part, the Government should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps,” the order reads. 

But in suggesting they have no power to secure Abrego Garcia’s return, Trump aides focused only on certain aspects of the ruling.

“The Supreme Court ruled, president, that if El Salvador wants to return him … we would facilitate it, meaning provide a plane,” Bondi said.

White House aide Stephen Miller said seeking Abrego Garcia’s return would equate to kidnapping him.

“A district court judge tried to tell the administration that they had to kidnap a citizen of El Salvador and fly him back here. That issue was raised at the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court said the district court order was unlawful and its main components reversed, 9-0, unanimously stating clearly that neither the secretary of state nor the President could be compelled by anybody to forcibly retrieve a citizen of El Salvador from El Salvador, who again, is a member of MS-13,” Miller said during the meeting.

Abrego Garcia’s family has said he was not a member of the gang MS-13 and that he fled El Salvador to escape gang violence. The Trump administration has accused Abrego Garcia of being a member of the gang based on a report from a confidential informant, who claimed he was involved with the international criminal gang in New York, a place his family says he has never lived.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, on Monday referenced the agreement between the U.S. and El Salvador regarding the Trump administration's deportations.

“Trump can get Abrego Garcia back tomorrow and comply with the Supreme Court because: (1) El Salvador is our agent (and junior partner) in this arrangement by which we pay them millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to hold our deportees; (2) they are dependent on U.S. support; (3) and the president of El Salvador is coming to the White House this week,” he wrote on the social platform X ahead of the meeting. “Act now.”

Lawmakers have also pushed to meet with Bukele while he is in town, with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) accusing the Trump administration of violating court orders and saying he was prepared to travel to El Salvador this week to check on Abrego Garcia's well-being.

"The Trump administration's lies about Kilmar's illegal banishment are irrelevant. They have ignored the courts — including the Supreme Court — that required them to rectify their crude mistake," Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-Md.), the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which has also tried to meet with Bukele and has called for Abrego Garcia’s return.

"The ball is now in President Bukele's court, and I hope and pray he will respond within the parameters of justice to uphold the law and due process."

"The Trump administration's lies about Kilmar's illegal banishment are irrelevant. They have ignored the courts -- including the Supreme Court -- that required them to rectify their crude mistake," Rep. Adranio Espaillat (D-Md.), the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which has also tried to meet with Bukele and has called for Abrego Garcia’s return.

"The ball is now in President Bukele's court, and I hope and pray he will respond within the parameters of justice to uphold the law and due process."

Updated at 2:47 p.m. EDT