By Travis Gillmore
Contributing Writer
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele told U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday that an illegal alien deported back to his home country of El Salvador will not be returned to the United States.
“You’re suggesting I smuggle a terrorist into the United States,” Bukele told reporters during the Oval Office meeting. “I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous.”
Kilmar Abrego Garcia was arrested in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 12 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Allegedly a member of MS-13, he has resided in El Salvador’s Terrorist Confinement Center for more than a month.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the federal government should help facilitate his return, but the order acknowledged that the government could not be forced to, given that the individual was in the custody of a foreign nation.
White House officials said Abrego Garcia was an illegal alien and highlighted two immigration court rulings that declared him a member of MS-13.
“That’s up to El Salvador if they want to return him,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said during the meeting. “That’s not up to us.”
With Trump’s January executive order designating the gang as a foreign terrorist organization, its members are now prioritized for deportation, according to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
“A district court judge tried to tell the administration that they had to kidnap a citizen of El Salvador and fly him back here,” Miller said during the meeting.
The two leaders signaled a strengthened commitment to the strategic alliance between their respective nations.
Described by White House officials as a “working visit,” the meeting focused on economic and national security collaboration regarding migration policies.
Bukele celebrated the transformation of El Salvador from the “murder capital of the world” to the “safest country in the Western hemisphere.”
“You cannot just free the criminals and think crime is going to go down magically,” Bukele said, suggesting Abrego Garcia will remain in custody. “We’re not very fond of releasing criminals in our country.”
Trump negotiated an arrangement, soon after taking office for a second term, to house deportees deemed dangerous terrorists in El Salvador’s supermax prison, capable of holding 40,000 inmates.
“It has been wonderful for us to be able to have somewhere to send the worst of the worst, and someone to partner with,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said during the meeting.
“And we’d like to continue that partnership, because it has been a powerful message of consequences.”
The Central American president said the relationship is mutually beneficial.
“I’m happy to be here, honored, and eager to help,” Bukele said.
