Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was wrongly deported to El Salvador, is still being held in a maximum-security mega-prison in the Central American nation.
Late last month, the Salvadoran national and his family sued various Trump administration officials to secure his return to the United States. The administration conceded in court filings that it had mistakenly deported the father of three as part of its recent deportation flights, which are now at the center of a fraught legal battle.
US District Judge Paula Xinis, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said Abrego Garcia’s removal to El Salvador was “an illegal act” and ordered the government to facilitate his return to the US by 11:59 p.m. on April 7. The Supreme Court upheld the order on April 10.
But White House officials have argued that it’s up to El Salvador whether to do so. And speaking from the Oval Office this week, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele told reporters that while he has the power to release Abrego Garcia, his administration isn’t “very fond of releasing terrorists” being detained in his country.
US officials have alleged that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, which the Trump administration has designated as a foreign terrorist organization. His attorneys, however, dispute the claim and Xinis voiced skepticism toward it.
Here are some of the stories that made headlines over the past week, as well as some photos that caught our eye.
