The president of El Salvador said Monday that he has no intention of returning a man deported from America by mistake. "Of course I'm not going to do it," said Nayib Bukele during a visit to the White House, reports the Washington Post. Bukele was referring to the high-profile case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an El Salvador native who was picked up in Maryland and is now in a prison in his native country. Bukele suggested that sending him back would be like smuggling a "terrorist" into America, per the New York Times.
Earlier in the day, top Trump adviser Stephen Miller said it was up to Bukele to decide whether Abrego Garcia would be returned. The Supreme Court last week backed up a federal judge's ruling that the US must "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's return, but the White House made the case Sunday in new court filings that it is not obligated to do so. Instead, it says it is only obligated to allow his return should El Salvador decide to release him. The White House maintains that Abrego Garcia is a gang member, but his lawyers say that isn't true. (More El Salvador stories.)