Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran migrant, was mistakenly removed from the U.S. on March 15 and flown to El Salvador’s Cecot prison.

A maximum-security facility built for the country’s most dangerous gang members.

His legal team says he doesn’t belong there and never did.

According to the government, the deportation happened due to an “administrative error.”

But even while admitting their mistake, federal officials claimed Garcia was linked to the violent MS-13 gang.

A charge his lawyer strongly denies.

Despite a court ruling that granted Garcia protection from deportation due to threats from gangs back home, U.S. authorities went ahead and put him on a military plane last month.

Part of the quiet deportation deal with El Salvador.

The decision left Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura a U.S. citizen and their family devastated.

Wrongfully deported

“This has been an emotional roller coaster for my children, Kilmar’s mother, his brother, and siblings,” she told the New York Times.

“But I won’t stop until my husband comes back home.”

Last week, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the administration to “facilitate and effectuate” Garcia’s return.

Stating that the government must act as if he had never been wrongfully removed.

Trump administration quickly filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing Judge Xinis had no power to interfere in matters of foreign diplomacy.

In a 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court disagreed.

The justices upheld the lower court’s order and directed that Garcia’s case be treated as though the deportation never occurred.

However, they also asked Judge Xinis to clarify how far the government must go in “effectuating” Garcia’s return a nod to the complex diplomatic waters involved.

While the court did not issue a specific timeline for Garcia’s return, the ruling leaves no doubt: the U.S. government must correct its mistake.

Garcia’s lawyer, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, praised the decision, saying,

“The rule of law prevailed.

The Supreme Court made it clear the government must bring Kilmar home.”

The Justice Department, while accepting the ruling, doubled down on its stance, stating the Court rightly acknowledged the president’s unique role in foreign policy.

“Activist judges do not have jurisdiction to override executive power,” a spokesperson said.

Now, the battle returns to the trial court and Garcia’s future hangs in the balance.

Along with growing questions over how many more may have been quietly deported into danger.