Chief Justice John Roberts blocks order to return wrongly deported man
Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts has temporarily blocked a court order requiring President Donald Trump's administration to return a Maryland man who was illegally deported to a high-security prison in El Salvador.
Trump's Department of Justice filed an emergency appeal on Monday morning after a federal judge ruled that Kilmar Abrego Garcia be returned to the United States.
Roberts granted an emergency stay of the order on Monday afternoon.
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"IT IS ORDERED that the April 4, 2025 order of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, case No. 8:25-cv-951, is hereby stayed pending further order of the undersigned or of the Court," Roberts' order said.
Solicitor General John Sauer argued that U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis exceeded his authority by ordering Garcia's return. The Trump administration has admitted that the deportation was an "administrative error" and a "clerical error."