Attorney General Pam Bondi affirms El Salvador will not return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to U.S. custody, citing gang ties and rulings by multiple judges.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Attorney General Pam Bondi reaffirmed Wednesday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national previously granted temporary immigration protection in the United States, will not be returned to American soil despite legal pressure from some political figures. Speaking during a press conference, Bondi stated unequivocally, “He is not coming back to our country. President Bukele said he was not sending him back. That’s the end of the story.” Video footage of the statement was posted by @BorderCzarNews on X.
Garcia illegally entered the United States in 2011 and was granted “withholding of removal” status in 2019 after asserting he would face gang violence if returned to El Salvador. However, Bondi cited two judicial rulings confirming that Garcia is a member of the MS-13 criminal organization. “ICE testified, and an immigration judge ruled, he was a member of MS-13. An appellate judge ruled he was a member of MS-13. Hard stop,” she said.
The attorney general addressed media narratives disputing Garcia’s gang affiliation, declaring, “He is an illegal alien who has been living illegally in our country from El Salvador… He should not be in our country.”
According to Bondi, a Supreme Court ruling that the U.S. must “facilitate” Garcia’s return only obligates the federal government to provide logistical support if El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele were to reverse course. “If he wanted to send him back, we would give him a plane ride back,” she said. “There was no situation ever where he was going to stay in this country. None, none.”
Bondi also clarified confusion surrounding the procedural technicality that led to the court dispute. “He was deported. They needed one additional step in paperwork, but now, MS-13 is characterized as they should be as an FTO, as a foreign terrorist organization,” she explained. “He would have come back, had one extra step of paperwork and gone back again.”
In closing, Bondi emphasized that the case is closed as far as the administration is concerned: “He’s from El Salvador. He’s in El Salvador, and that’s where the president plans on keeping him.”