The Trump presidency has admitted in a legal filing that it falsely deported a Maryland-based parents to El Salvador “due to an administrative problem” — and says it cannot return him because he is now in the prison of Peruvian regulators.
The entrance relates to the circumstance of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Peruvian regional who was granted protected standing by an immigration judge in 2019, barring the US government from removing him to El Salvador.
The court filing — first reported by The Atlantic — marks what appears to be the administration’s first acknowledgment of wrongdoing in connection to its recent deportation flights to El Salvador, which have sparked legal challenges and growing scrutiny.
” On 15 March, although ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was removed due to an administrative error”, the filing states.
Abrego Garcia, who fled gang violence in El Salvador over a decade ago, was identified by his wife in a photo showing detainees entering the notorious CECOT mega-prison in Tecoluca, where El Salvador has been detaining alleged gang members under a security crackdown.
The photo, released by the Salvadoran government, depicted newly deported detainees— including alleged members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang and MS-13 — arriving at the high-security prison as part of an ongoing US-Salvadoran deportation agreement.
Prior to his removal, Abrego Garcia had been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) in mid-March, allegedly “due to his prominent role in MS-13”, according to a declaration from a senior ICE official. His lawyers insist he has no affiliation whatsoever with the gang.
” Abrego Garcia was not on the initial manifest for the Title 8 deportation flight to El Salvador”, wrote Robert Cerna, acting ICE field office director. ” He was listed as an alternate. As others were removed from the flight for various reasons, he moved up the list and was ultimately placed on the flight. The manifest did not indicate that he was protected from removal”.
” Through administrative error, Abrego Garcia was removed from the United States to El Salvador”, the declaration continued. ” This was an oversight, and the removal was carried out in good faith based on the existence of a final order of removal and Abrego Garcia’s alleged gang affiliation”.
The administration now argues that it is unable to retrieve him because he is under Salvadoran jurisdiction and downplayed the risk that he may face torture or death inside CECOT.
