El Salvador Insists 'Ball Is In' Trump's Court to Bring Abrego Garcia Home: 'The U.S. Is Paying to Keep Them There'

Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) pressed El Salvadoran Vice President Félix Ulloa on the continued detention of Kilmar Abrego Garcia despite the US Supreme Court's unanimous ruling that found his deportation illegal.

Van Hollen repeatedly referred to the 9-0 Supreme Court decision, demanding to know why Garcia remains imprisoned. In response, Ulloa deflected responsibility back to Washington, insisting, "The ball is in your court."

Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father who was granted a "withholding of removal" order, was mistakenly deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration in March and has been imprisoned in CECOT supermax facility since. The White House has consistently alleged that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, though the accusation has not been tried in court, and refused to facilitate his return to the US.

Meanwhile, El Salvador maintains that his release is logistically impossible under their laws. "We cannot smuggle a person to the United States," Ulloa claimed. "What kind of visa will he get, to get legally into the United States?"

"No one is asking you to smuggle him," Van Hollen countered. "We're simply asking that they open the door of CECOT and let him get on the plane."

"We want this man, who our courts have said was illegally abducted from the United States, to be just released," Van Hollen continued. "Do you have any evidence that Mr. Abrego Garcia has committed a crime?"

Ulloa admitted El Salvador holds no criminal evidence against Abrego Garcia, or any of the detainees sent from the US. "We have a deal with the US government. They send people, we host them, they pay. That's it."

Ulloa's remarks echo Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. "How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?" Bukele told press during a visit to the Oval Office last month. "Of course I'm not going to do it. The question is preposterous."

When US District Judge Paula Xinis first ruled that the White House must facilitate Abrego Garcia's return in early April, the administration claimed they lacked the authority to do so, recommending Xinis instead contact President Bukele, "because we are unaware of the judge having jurisdiction or authority over the country of El Salvador."

Later, President Donald Trump admitted he "could" call Bukele to request Abrego Garcia's return, but would not.

Despite the Supreme Court's ruling and increasing congressional pressure, the volley of accountability between El Salvador and the United States continues, as Abrego Garcia remains imprisoned.