Border czar Tom Homan is defending the Trump administration in the case of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador, despite the Supreme Court ruling earlier this week that the U.S. must facilitate his return.
During an interview Friday on Newsmax, Homan doubled down on the move, saying, “I think we made the right decision.”
“The aliens are to blame when they enter this country illegally, which is a crime. He’s an MS-13 gang member, according to our intelligence and even that of the intelligence of El Salvador,” Homan told host Chris Salcedo. “He was given withholding and removal from El Salvador because of fear of gang violence.”
“Listen. the Supreme Court said we’ll facilitate. We’ll facilitate,” he continued. “However, we’ve got to remember, he’s an El Salvadoran national and in [the] custody of the El Salvadoran government. So, you know, we’ll facilitate what we can, but I think we made the right decision.”
The nation’s highest court ruled on Thursday that the administration must “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported as part of President Trump’s sweeping immigration agenda. The White House responded to the decision on Friday.
“The Supreme Court made their ruling last night very clear that it’s the administration’s responsibility to facilitate the return, not to effectuate the return,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
In its ruling, the court also requires the administration to provide steps to the district judge overseeing the case on how the U.S. will facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return.
“The District Court should clarify its directive, with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs,” the justices wrote, with no noted dissents. “For its part, the Government should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps.”
The federal judge who ordered the administration to try to return Abrego Garcia, lit into the Department of Justice for requesting more time to update the courtroom about the next steps.
“First, the Defendants’ act of sending Abrego Garcia to El Salvador was wholly illegal from the moment it happened, and Defendants have been on notice of the same,” U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis wrote, adding that their request for time to review the order “blinks at reality.”
The Trump administration previously acknowledged that it wrongfully deported Abrego Garcia to the notorious CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, calling it an “administrative error.” Still, they contend that the courts have no authority to force his return since he was in the custody of El Salvador.
Trump on Friday said he would follow the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back I would do that,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One. “I respect the Supreme Court.”
The move comes after the court ruled in favor of the Trump administration’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to speed up deportations.