US President Donald Trump met El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele and if there was one major takeaway from the meeting, it was that Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador from Maryland, will not be coming back to the United States, despite a Supreme Court decision saying his return must be “facilitated.”

Advertisment

In a meeting at the White House, both leaders stood firm on the issue, with Bukele calling the suggestion of returning Abrego Garcia “preposterous.”

Also read: ‘One hell of a president’: Trump praises ‘world’s coolest dictator’ Bukele as El Salvador jails US deportees in mega-prison

“I hope you’re not suggesting that I smuggle a terrorist into the United States,” Bukele said when asked if he planned to send the man back. “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? Of course I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous.”

Advertisment

He continued, “I don’t have the power to return him to the United States,” adding that he had no intention of releasing Abrego Garcia into El Salvador either. “I’m not very fond of releasing terrorists into the country,” he said.

White House says decision is El Salvador’s to make

According to Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller, the Supreme Court’s ruling only stated that if El Salvador chose to return Abrego Garcia, the United States would provide the necessary support, like transportation.

Advertisment

Also read: ‘Putin started it, Biden blew it, Zelensky's incompetent’: Trump blames 'three people' for millions of deaths in Ukraine war

“The [Supreme Court] ruling solely stated that if this individual at El Salvador’s sole discretion was sent back to our country, that we could deport him a second time,” Miller explained. “No version of this legally ends with him ever living here because he is a citizen of El Salvador,” he added.

Asked if he would personally request Bukele to return the man to the US, President Trump passed the question to US Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Bondi backed the administration’s position, saying, “In 2019 two courts ruled that he was a member of MS13 and he was illegally in our country. Right now, it was additional paperwork that needed to be done. That’s up to El Salvador if they want to return him – that’s not up to us.”

Also read: ‘The Trump Effect in action’: Nvidia to manufacture AI chips in US as Trump plans to announce ‘semiconductor tariffs’

Confusion over Supreme Court wording

The Supreme Court’s recent unsigned decision upheld a lower court ruling by Judge Paula Xinis that the US government must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return but not necessarily “effectuate” it. The wording has become central to the dispute, with officials arguing that “facilitate” means simply providing a plane, not forcing El Salvador to act.

Senior White House aides have voiced their opposition to Judge Xinis’ ruling, saying a court cannot interfere in matters of foreign policy.

President Trump himself has shifted his view in recent days. After initially saying he would respect the Supreme Court's decision. “If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back, I would do that. I respect the Supreme Court,” he told reporters, he now backs the White House interpretation that leaves the final decision up to El Salvador.

Watch: Trump's approval rating falls to 59% after tariff war announcement

Why was Abrego Garcia deported?

Abrego Garcia reportedly entered the United States illegally around 2011. In 2019, an immigration judge reviewed his case and decided not to deport him, citing credible threats to his life from gangs in El Salvador. The judge noted that one gang had targeted him due to his family’s pupusa business.

Despite the judge’s ruling, he was still removed from the country earlier this year in what officials now admit was a mistake. However, the Trump administration maintains that Abrego Garcia has gang ties and was never legally entitled to remain in the US.