Chief Justice Roberts Blocks Court Order Allowing the Return of Suspected MS-13 Gang Member Back Into the U.S.

Chief Justice John Roberts halted a lower court’s order requiring the federal government to bring Abrego Garcia back to the United States from El Salvador on Monday afternoon by issuing an administrative stay in the case Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, et al. v. Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, et al. Judge Paula Xinis of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a broad order on Friday and reiterated it on Sunday, requiring the government to make arrangements for Garcia’s return by Monday night. The stay prevents this order.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis’ ruling, which required the government to bring Abrego Garcia back to the United States from El Salvador by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, is temporarily halted by Roberts’ order. John Sauer, the U.S. Solicitor General, contended that the judge’s decision was “unprecedented,” imposing a deadline on the United States to not only engage in negotiations but also achieve success in international diplomacy. The Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security claim that courts cannot order the executive branch to take action in foreign affairs and that Abrego Garcia has gang links.

The Trump administration issued an emergency appeal for Roberts to stay, stating that Xinis’ ruling threatened to weaken the executive branch’s control over foreign policy and immigration enforcement. According to the chief justice’s order:

“IT IS ORDERED that the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, case No. 8:25-cv-951, order dated April 4, 2025, be stayed pending further orders from the Court or the undersigned.“

In 2019, a Salvadoran national named Abrego Garcia was granted protection from removal after an immigration judge determined that sending him back to El Salvador would put his life at risk. But in March, he was arrested and sent to El Salvador by ICE officials, where he was housed in the country’s Terrorism Confinement Center, one of the most notorious and secure jails in Central America. Citing the first deportation as a legal error, his attorneys filed a lawsuit to get him returned.

Confirmed only last week, Solicitor General John Sauer requested the court to step in, describing Judge Xinis’ decision as “remarkable” and claiming that it essentially compelled the U.S. government to succeed in international negotiations in a single day. Writing that the courts cannot “seize control over foreign relations, treat the Executive Branch as a subordinate diplomat, and demand that the United States let a member of a foreign terrorist organization into America tonight,” he also cautioned about the precedent it would make.

The Supreme Court has mandated that Abrego Garcia’s lawyers submit their answer by Tuesday at 5 p.m., and the matter is still pending. While the justices consider whether to take additional action, Roberts’ stay suspends the lower court’s decision.

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