In a pointed display of diplomatic alignment and legal clarity, President Donald Trump and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele on Monday confronted misleading media narratives concerning Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an MS-13 member deported from the United States and now incarcerated in El Salvador.
The Oval Office meeting, originally intended as a bilateral update on regional cooperation, quickly pivoted into a direct challenge to the press after CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked whether the Trump administration would request Bukele’s assistance in returning Abrego Garcia to the United States. Collins’ framing—that the deportation may have been in error—was met with immediate and coordinated rebuttals from U.S. officials.
Attorney General Pam Bondi was first to respond. She emphasized that Abrego Garcia’s removal from the U.S. was legally sound and supported by judicial precedent. “In 2019, two separate immigration courts ruled that he was a confirmed member of MS-13 and unlawfully present in the country,” Bondi stated. She clarified that the U.S. had fulfilled its legal obligation by deporting him and that any future custody decisions now lie solely with El Salvador.
On-air demolition of CNN’s Kaitlan Collins
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) April 14, 2025
Bondi also addressed the procedural component of such transfers. “We’ll provide the plane,” she said, noting that the U.S. remains open to logistical cooperation should El Salvador wish to repatriate Abrego Garcia under their judicial framework.
Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor, expanded on the statutory implications. He cited the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 and emphasized that Trump’s 2020 designation of MS-13 as a terrorist organization nullified any remaining pathways for immigration relief.
“Two courts confirmed his gang affiliation,” Miller said. “Once MS-13 was formally designated a terrorist group, federal law mandated automatic ineligibility for relief. The deportation order was valid and final.”
.@nayibbukele: “The question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don’t have the power to return him to the United States.” pic.twitter.com/PyrXqO4bvJ
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 14, 2025
Miller also criticized the American media’s assumptions about foreign judicial sovereignty. “It is deeply arrogant for U.S. journalists to suggest we dictate to El Salvador how to manage their own criminal justice system,” he said.
President Bukele reinforced the position of his U.S. counterparts. “The question is preposterous,” he told Collins. He dismissed the suggestion that El Salvador would return a violent gang member to American soil, citing national security concerns and judicial integrity.
Bukele also underscored the ongoing criminal proceedings against Abrego Garcia at the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), the high-security facility established for violent gang offenders in Tecoluca. “He’s where he belongs,” Bukele added.
