WASHINGTON: The Trump administration erroneously deported a man it alleges is a gang member in Maryland back to El Salvador as part of its March 15 deportation flights despite a judge’s ruling prohibiting his removal, according to a court filing on Monday.
Lawyers for the man, Kilmer Abrego-Garcia, in a separate filing said he is not a member of the MS-13 gang and demanded his immediate return to the United States.
In Monday’s filing, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement official said Abrego-Garcia was on a third flight deporting people under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act “in error” despite a 2019 judgment granting him protection.
“Through administrative error, Abrego-Garcia was removed from the United States to El Salvador. 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 purported membership in MS-13,” the filing said.
The Trump administration invoked the 18th-century law to deport Venezuelans and Salvadoreans it alleges are violent gang members as part of its sweeping immigration crackdown.
Representatives for some deportees have denied any gang ties, and the courts have temporarily blocked use of the law amid legal challenges. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers, in a March 28 filing, called on the US District Court in Maryland to order his return to the United States and halt US funding of his detention at the mega-prison in El Salvador, which they called a “notorious torture chamber.”
“Where the government casts aside laws and the orders of courts, including administrative courts, state power consists solely of the capacity to commit violence,” they wrote, noting that the US government could have taken other steps to challenge the 2019 ruling.
ICE said it was aware of the earlier court order blocking Abrego Garcia’s removal, and that he was arrested on March 12 over his alleged MS-13 role and transferred to the staging area for the deportation flights.
He was not on the March 15 flight’s initial manifest, but was assigned to the flight as “an alternate” as other people were removed from the flight for various reasons, it added.
Trump administration says man deported to El Salvador ‘in error’
https://arab.news/2hmsh
Trump administration says man deported to El Salvador ‘in error’
- Lawyers for the man, Kilmer Abrego-Garcia, in a separate filing said he is not a member of the MS-13 gang and demanded his immediate return to the United States
- “Through administrative error, Abrego-Garcia was removed from the United States to El Salvador,” the filing said
About 30 people are feared dead after a migrant boat capsized off Crete
- Authorities have arrested two Sudanese men, ages 25 and 19, as the suspected traffickers
ATHENS, Greece: About 30 people are feared dead after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the Greek island of Crete, Greek authorities and the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Monday.
The boat, carrying about 50 migrants, capsized 20 nautical miles off the port of Kali Limenes, the southernmost point on Crete, on Saturday. Three men were found dead that day and a woman’s body was found floating at sea on Sunday.
No other survivors or victims have been found since. Passing ships are continuing to search the waters, a coast guard spokesperson told The Associated Press Monday.
The capsized boat had left Tobruk, Libya on Thursday, according to survivors. There were high winds in the area Saturday.
Authorities have arrested two Sudanese men, ages 25 and 19, as the suspected traffickers.
“Just two months into 2026, at least 606 migrants have already been reported dead or missing along the Mediterranean route, according to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project. This marks the deadliest start to a year in the Mediterranean since IOM began recording such data in 2014,” the UN office said in a statement Monday.
“IOM warns that trafficking and smuggling networks continue to exploit migrants along the Central Mediterranean route, profiting from dangerous crossings in unseaworthy boats while exposing people to severe abuse and protection risks,” the statement continues.
“Stronger international cooperation and protection-centered responses are key to tackling these criminal networks and expanding safe and regular pathways to reduce risks and save lives,” it added.
