WASHINGTON

The Trump administration on Monday asked the US Supreme Court to block a federal judge’s order requiring it to return a US resident who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, was deported despite a 2019 immigration court ruling shielding him from removal due to gang violence risks. The White House called his removal an “administrative error” but continues to label him an MS-13 gang member – an allegation his family firmly denies.

US District Judge Paula Xinis on Friday ordered the government to bring Abrego Garcia back by Monday night, calling his deportation “wholly lawless.” The Justice Department called the order “unprecedented” and claimed compliance was impossible due to the tight deadline and foreign diplomacy constraints.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the judge’s ruling earlier Monday. The administration’s emergency appeal now awaits action from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.