Midway through the meeting, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins asked about the status of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador who was deported from Maryland amid allegations of his connection to MS-13.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump adviser Stephen Miller, and Bukele all confirmed that the Trump administration can’t force El Salvador to return one of its own citizens back to the United States.
“First and foremost, he was illegally in our country,” Bondi said. “Right now, it was additional paperwork that needed to be done. That’s up to El Salvador if they want to return him. That’s not up to us.”
Bondi cited two 2019 court rulings that designated Garcia as a member of MS-13 and led to the initial deportation. She also emphasized that the Supreme Court decision only requires the U.S. to facilitate Garcia’s return if El Salvador decides to send him back.
Miller also mentioned the complications involved with an attempt to return Garcia to the U.S.
“He’s [Garcia] a citizen of El Salvador,” Miller said. “It’s very arrogant for the American media to suggest that we tell El Salvador how to handle their own citizens.”
Bukele also put down any thought that Garcia would return to the U.S.
“I’m certainly not suggesting that I’ll smuggle a terrorist into the United States,” Bukele said. “Of course, I’m not going to do it. It’s preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don’t have the power to return him to the United States.”
Bukele talked about the success he has had in decreasing the crime rate in El Salvador during his time as president.
“We’re not very fond of releasing terrorists into our country,” he said. “You just turned the murder capital of the world into the safest country in the Western Hemisphere, and you want us to go back to releasing criminals so we can go back to being the murder capital of the world? That’s not going to happen.”
Even Secretary of State Marco Rubio weighed in on the justification of the deportations.
BONDI SAYS DEMOCRATS WHO VISIT KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA ARE ‘DETACHED FROM REALITY’
“This individual is a citizen of El Salvador,” Rubio said. “He was illegally in the United States and was returned to his country. That’s where you deport people — back to their country of origin.”
Even if Garcia is not an MS-13 member, he is still an illegal immigrant. The Trump administration may have deported him in error, but the decision to return him belongs to El Salvador.
