April 7, 2025, 12:08 PM PDT — The Trump administration has escalated a high-stakes legal battle to the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking emergency intervention to block a federal judge’s order mandating the return of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man deported to El Salvador in what the government admits was an “administrative error.” The filing, lodged Monday morning by Solicitor General D. John Sauer, challenges a Friday ruling by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who demanded Garcia’s return by 11:59 p.m. EDT today—setting up a dramatic clash over executive power, judicial authority, and immigration enforcement.
Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran national who lived legally in Maryland with a work permit, was deported on March 15 to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a mega-prison known for its harsh conditions. His removal defied a 2019 immigration judge’s order granting him protection from deportation to El Salvador due to credible threats of gang persecution—a status ICE did not appeal at the time. Arrested on March 12 in an IKEA parking lot with his 5-year-old son in the car, Garcia was swept up in Trump’s mass deportation push, which included flights targeting alleged Venezuelan gang members under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. He ended up on a third flight, despite lacking gang ties, according to his lawyers.
A Judge’s Rebuke and a Deadline
Judge Xinis, ruling from Greenbelt, Maryland, called Garcia’s deportation “wholly lawless” in a Friday hearing packed with supporters, including his U.S.-citizen wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura. “This was an illegal act,” Xinis declared, ordering the government to facilitate Garcia’s return by Monday night after Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni conceded, “The plaintiff should not have been removed.” Reuveni’s frustration boiled over as he admitted to lacking answers on why Garcia was detained or sent to CECOT, prompting Attorney General Pam Bondi to place him on leave Saturday—a move that stunned legal circles.
In a 22-page Sunday opinion, Xinis doubled down, rejecting the administration’s claim that it lacked power to retrieve Garcia from Salvadoran custody. “Defendants seized Abrego Garcia without any lawful authority… and forcibly transported him to El Salvador in direct contravention of [immigration law],” she wrote, citing his detention in a facility “that deprives its detainees of adequate food, water, and shelter.” The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld her order Monday, with Judge Stephanie Thacker blasting the government’s stance as “unconscionable” and Judge James Wilkinson lamenting its failure to “rectify” the mistake.
Trump’s Supreme Court Plea
The administration’s Supreme Court filing argues that Xinis overstepped, infringing on presidential authority over foreign affairs. “The Constitution charges the President, not federal district courts, with the conduct of foreign diplomacy,” Sauer wrote, asserting that the U.S. “cannot compel El Salvador to follow a federal judge’s bidding” under a tight deadline. While conceding the deportation to El Salvador was an error—Garcia could have been removed elsewhere—the Justice Department insists he’s an MS-13 gang member, a claim based on a 2019 informant’s tip linking him to a New York clique he never lived near. Xinis dismissed this as “vague, uncorroborated,” noting no indictments or evidence back it up.
The appeal lands with Chief Justice John Roberts, who oversees 4th Circuit emergencies and could act solo or refer it to the full court. It’s the second immigration case at the justices’ doorstep this term—last week, Trump sought to resume deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, a fight still pending. Posts on X reflect public outrage, with one user calling it “wicked” and another questioning Bondi’s leadership as the clock ticks.
A Family’s Anguish, a Nation’s Debate
For Vasquez Sura, who rallied supporters Friday in Hyattsville, the case is personal. “If I had all the money in the world, I’d buy one thing: a phone call to hear Kilmar’s voice,” she said, her husband’s fate hinging on diplomatic wrangling she can’t control. Maryland leaders like Governor Wes Moore and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott have decried the deportation, with Moore posting on X, “No one should be deported to the very country where a judge determined they will face persecution.”
As Trump’s tariffs tank markets—Bitcoin below $75,000 and the S&P 500 down $5 trillion—the Garcia case amplifies a broader immigration firestorm. With hours until Xinis’ deadline, the Supreme Court’s next move could either halt his return or cement a rare judicial check on Trump’s deportation machine. For now, a Maryland family waits, and a divided nation watches.
