A Trump administration official informed a federal court Saturday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia is alive and being held at the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador.
“He is detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador,” said Michael Kozak, a senior U.S. State Department official. He told the court that his assessment was based on “official reporting” from the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the government to provide regular updates on its efforts to bring Abrego Garcia back to the United States, following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that it must facilitate his return.
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Abrego Garcia was one of more than 200 individuals deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador in March. He had been living in Maryland with his wife and three children and was under a court order that barred his removal due to credible fears he would be harmed if returned to El Salvador.
The Trump administration has acknowledged in court that Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported because of an “administrative error.”
Judge Xinis set a Tuesday deadline for the Justice Department to explain what steps are being taken to return Abrego Garcia to the United States.
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