How did the Trump administration mistakenly deport a dad to an El Salvador prison?

By Michaela Walters (with Emily Maitlis & Jon Sopel)

The Trump administration has admitted an "administrative error" led to the deportation of a Maryland father to El Salvador despite his protected legal status, with US officials claiming they now cannot return him to his family.

Read time: 4 minutes

In brief:

• A Maryland father with protected legal status was mistakenly deported to El Salvador by ICE, which the Trump administration has admitted was an "administrative error."
• Despite acknowledging the mistake, the administration claims they cannot bring him back as US courts lack jurisdiction now that he's in El Salvador's custody.
• The News Agents argue this case undermines the rule of law and due process, raising concerns about the enforcement of immigration laws in the US.

What’s the story?

The Trump administration, maybe for the first time ever, has admitted to making a mistake after deporting a Maryland father with protected legal status to El Salvador.

Three planeloads of Salvadoran and Venezuelan men accused of being gang members were sent to Cecot, a notorious ‘Terrorism Confinement Centre’ in El Salvador on March 15, despite a court order blocking it.

It’s now come to light that Kilmer Armado Abrego-Garcia, who lived with his wife and 5-year-old son in Maryland, was on the third plane - although he shouldn’t have been.

Abrego-Garcia was granted “withholding of removal to El Salvador” by an immigration judge in October 2019, giving him protected status in a ruling that said he was likely to be targeted by gangs if he went back to his home country.

But his attorney has told of how, days before he was detained and put on a plane, Albrego-Garcia was stopped by immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers while picking his son up from school, who “informed him that his immigration status had changed” and took him away.

“It's not that they're taking people from one American prison and deporting them to another country and a prison there,” Emily Maitlis explains on The News Agents,

“This man was literally picked up off the streets whilst he was collecting his five-year-old disabled son, an American citizen, from school.”

The Trump administration has admitted that “ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador” and his deportation was an "administrative error”.

It has also said it is unable to bring the father back because the US courts lack jurisdiction now he is in El Salvador’s custody.

“His lawyer has said he's never seen a case in which the government knowingly deported somebody who'd already received protected legal status from an immigration judge,” Emily adds.

“He doesn't understand how you fight this case when the government, A) admits they got it wrong, but B) doesn't care.”

According to his attorney, Abrego-Garcia has no criminal record. The Trump administration has said, however, he is a “danger to the community” and an active member of Salvadoran gang MS-13, which Trump declared a foreign terrorist organisation.

Trump administration admits 'administrative error' led to the deportation of a dad with legal status

What’s the response been?

Outrage over the deportation has not been confined to Democrats and liberals. Right-wing podcaster, Joe Rogan, a man who Jon describes as “right at the center of the Trump MAGA-manosphere,” has voiced concerns too.

“You have to get scared that people who are not criminals are getting lassoed up and deported and sent to, like, El Salvador prisons,” Rogan said.

But Rogan’s support hasn’t left Trump, whose approval ratings for the way he is handling the deportation issue are still really high, any more willing to change his approach.

And the Democrats, often criticised for being too light on immigration, are no more helpful, as they’re seemingly unable to find a strong or consistent voice to push back on the ‘administrative error’.

“Democrats are so nervous of stepping into a debate that in any way shows that they are supportive of somebody from El Salvador or somebody from Venezuela, in case they've sort of merged into a place where Democrats used to be, which was, oh, ‘anyone can come here’,” Emily says.

What’s The News Agents’ take?

“Whatever happened to the rule of law and due process in the United States?” Jon Sopel asks.

While there might be “sympathy” in the US for Donald Trump deporting gang members and people who are in the country illegally, the man in question had settled legal status in America.

“To just arbitrarily decide: ‘Don't care. don't give a monkeys, we're getting rid of him anyway’ shows that the rule of law is not what it seems.”

“If the White House felt there was a need to deport Abrego-Garcia, because of his status, he should have been put on trial, and/or had his legal status removed by the courts.”

“That is how these things should be resolved, not by ICE enforcers,” Jon says.

The case of Abrego-Garcia doesn’t just raise serious questions about how such an administrative error could happen, the fact that the White House is doing nothing to ensure his return raises even broader questions about the state of immigration law in America.

“If you are now saying that the court's powerless to correct this, you're essentially saying that immigration laws are meaningless because the government can just deport whoever they want,” Emily says.

Jon thinks it's a classic case of Trump’s administration trying to not only “sound tough,” but “look tough” too.

“I think sadism is actually at the heart of this,” Emily concludes.

Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents now.

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