Man's department was misdeeded incorrectly in El Salvador, the Department of State says

(Bloomberg) – A man from Maryland who was mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador is, according to the US State Department, “alive and safe” in the facility. Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a migrant who legally lived in Maryland before being deported, is in El Salvador’s terrorism locking center, senior official Michael Kozak told the US District Court on Saturday. He mentions official reporting from the US Embassy in San Salvador. The statement comes after lawyers of the Justice Department missed a deadline of the District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland to provide answers about Abrego Garcia’s location and status in prison. She gave them until Friday morning to answer her questions, but American advocates said it was not enough time. Abrego Garcia is detained “under the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador,” Kozak said without providing further details. The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that President Donald Trump’s administration should take steps to return Abrego Garcia to the US. The decision determines a limitation on Trump’s deportation power amid his efforts to erase authority with minimal judicial review. Trump officials said Abrego Garcia, 29, is a member of the MS-13 criminal gang, who rejected his lawyers and Xinis. Immigration officials arrested him on March 12, accusing him of playing a ‘prominent role’ in MS-13, although he was not convicted of a crime or charged with one. He was flown to El Salvador on March 15, along with more than 200 other suspected gang members. Abrego Garcia lived with his wife and three children, all American citizens. According to an immigration Court order of 2019, he cannot be deported to El Salvador, where he says he is facing gang-based extortion and prosecution. More stories like these are available on Bloomberg.com © 2025 Bloomberg LP first published: 13 Apr 2025, 08:10 am Ist