El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said on Monday that he does not intend to return to the United States Kilmar Embego García, immigrant deported by mistake by the US government. “How can I return him to the United States? I smuggle him back? Of course I won’t do that,” Bukele said during a meeting with President Donald Trump at the Oval Hall.
The statement was made a day after the US Department of Justice informing a federal judge that he was not considered to be obliged to bring Vugo García back. Salvadoren was living in Maryland, was married to an American citizen and was misguided during immigration actions.
Since signed an agreement with the Trump government, Bukele has accepted more than 200 US -deported Venezuelans in recent months. They were sent to CECOT, a megaprinion known for their rigorous conditions in El Salvador.
Trump publicly thanked the support of the Salvadoran President to the mass deportation policies. “You’re helping us, and we thank you for it,” he said during the White House meeting.
Bukele reinforced the alignment with Trump’s migratory policy. “To release 350 million people, you have to imprison some. You have to imprison them to free 350 million Americans who ask for the end of crime and terrorism,” he said.
The case of Abrego García, however, paves the way for a possible constitutional impasse, as the US government has disregarded court orders to correct the misconception.