A day after a federal court sought details on the status of a Maryland man who was deported in error to El Salvador, the State Department told a judge that Kilmar Abrego Garcia is “alive and secure” but still not on American soil.
“It is my understanding based on official reporting from our Embassy in San Salvador that Abrego Garcia is currently being held in the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador,” said Michael Kozak, a senior bureau official for the State Department, in a declaration submitted on Saturday minutes after the 5 p.m. deadline set by the judge.
“He is alive and secure in that facility,” Kozak added. “He is detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador.”
The Supreme Court had ordered the U.S. government “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to America.
This undated photo provided by CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, in April 2025, shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
CASA via AP
Later Saturday evening, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social claiming El Salvador President Nayib Bukele “has graciously accepted into his Nation’s custody some of the most violent alien enemies of the World and, in particular, the United States.”
“These barbarians are now in the sole custody of El Salvador, a proud