As Trump officials near deadline to return man deported to El Salvador, a group is demanding answers on student deportations

CNN

07-04-2025

The Trump administration has until 11:59 p.m. Monday to return to the United States a Maryland man who the government admits was accidentally deported to a high-security prison in El Salvador.
District Judge Paula Xinis on Sunday rejected efforts from the Trump administration to pause an order for the return of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, claiming the removal of the Salvadoran metal worker was 'wholly lawless,' and a 'grievous error.'
Xinis asserted on Sunday that her order remained 'in full force and effect.' The Department of Justice has asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to put the ruling on hold.
Abrego, whose attorneys say fled gang violence in El Salvador more than a decade ago, has been sent to CECOT, the country's notorious mega prison. He was pulled over by federal agents and arrested on March 12, while his 5-year-old child sat in the back seat of his car. The government initially alleged Abrego was part of the MS-13 gang, but there is not a court case linking him to the group.
Abrego's case is just one of hundreds caught in legal crossfires with the US government as the administration continues to slash immigration numbers and deport migrants –– whether they entered the US legally or illegally. It is, however, the first time the Trump administration has admitted to an error related to its recent deportation flights to El Salvador.
The fraught legal battle is also taking place amid a sudden round of visa revocations among international students at some of the country's top universities, with college officials left unprepared and searching for answers from the government.
As we enter another week of Trump's sweeping immigration clampdown, here's what to expect in the coming days:
Years prior to his arrest, Abrego had been deemed a gang member by the Prince George's County Police Department in part because he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and a hoodie, and on the word of an informant who said that he was an active member of MS-13 –– an allegation his attorneys continually denied, according to a recent court filing.
In 2019, an immigration judge granted Abrego protected status, prohibiting the federal government from sending him to El Salvador.
Despite the government's acknowledgment of the mistake, the US Department of Homeland Security also claims he is involved in human trafficking.
'Whether he is in El Salvador or a detention facility in the U.S., he should be locked up,' DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CNN Friday. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt has also insisted on labeling Abrego as a criminal.
Xinis on Sunday wrote in a legal opinion that allegations against Abrego were 'vague' and 'uncorroborated' –– and that in any case, he was under protected status.
'As defendants acknowledge, they had no legal authority to arrest him, no justification to detain him, and no grounds to send him to El Salvador — let alone deliver him into one of the most dangerous prisons in the Western Hemisphere,' she wrote.
Abrego's arrest has sent shockwaves through his Central American community in Maryland, whose members told CNN they have been unfairly targeted by the administration or labeled as gang members without evidence.
Salvadoran community members, including those who hold green cards or visas, say they have felt unsafe since Abrego's arrest as they could – at a moment's notice – be deported to a country where they may face life-threatening danger.
As one of the collateral effects of the case, the Department of Justice has placed US Attorney Erez Reuveni on leave after he expressed frustration at not being able to answer key questions from a judge over the mistaken deportation.
Asked why the US couldn't simply ask for Abrego's return, Reuveni said, 'The first thing I did when I got this case on my desk is ask my clients the same question,' adding that he did not get a direct answer.
Attorney General Pam Bondi took issue with how Reuveni handled the case in court, saying, in a statement to CNN, that 'every Department of Justice attorney is required to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States. Any attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences.'
In another momentary upset for the government, a federal judge in Boston has transferred the case against Tufts PhD student Rümeysa Öztürk to Vermont, after the Turkish national was arrested and taken to a Louisiana jail pending deportation.
Judge Denise J. Casper last week denied the government's motion to transfer Öztürk's case to the Western District of Louisiana and ruled that her order to stop Öztürk's deportation stands. A status update for Öztürk's case is expected to come on Monday.
After being arrested in Boston last month, the Turkish doctoral student was moved across multiple state lines as part of a 'highly unusual' and 'secretive' attempt to keep her from accessing her attorney or being near her home, her attorneys said last week.
In documents filed with the federal district court in Boston, attorneys for Öztürk accused the federal government of targeting her because of her advocacy for Palestinian rights, which they pointed out would be a violation of Öztürk's constitutionally protected right to free speech.
'While the trauma ICE has inflicted on her for writing an op-ed is irreparable, this is the first step towards bringing her home,' attorney Sidra Mahfooz said in a statement to CNN.
More than two dozen international students at universities across the country are known to have their visas revoked so far, with several colleges still seeking answers behind the reasons for the move.
The American Council on Education, an organization that spearheads public policy and research at schools, requested a briefing from the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department regarding visa revocations of international students.
At least five international students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst had their visas revoked last week, the university said Friday. While two international students at the University of Texas Austin and a 'small number' of students at the University of Cincinnati had their student visas revoked or legal status terminated.
In California, at least 15 students or recent graduates from the University of California system and Stanford University had their student visas revoked.
Harvard University said Sunday that a recent records review revealed five current and previous students have had their visas revoked, according to an announcement sent to the university's community members.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday announced the US would begin suspending visas of all South Sudanese nationals and block new arrivals –– a decision that could affect the status of Duke University's basketball player Khaman Maluach, the Blue Devils' starting center and NBA hopeful.
'It is time for the Transitional Government of South Sudan to stop taking advantage of the United States,' Rubio said in a statement. 'Enforcing our nation's immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States.'
Under the Biden administration, South Sudanese people were granted temporary protected status until May 3, 2025, but since taking office, President Donald Trump has moved to curb protections for migrants already living in the United States as part of his crackdown on immigration.
Rubio alleged South Sudan, which has been plagued with civil unrest since splitting from Sudan in 2011, is not accepting back its citizens 'in a timely manner' as the US 'seeks to remove them.'
In a statement sent to several news outlets, Duke University spokesman Frank Tramble said the school is 'looking into the situation and working expeditiously to understand the implications for Duke students.'
Harvard Professor Ricardo Hausmann, a Venezuelan-born economist, said on X that Rubio's announcement 'transforms every non-US citizen into a potential hostage of the US government to be used as leverage over foreign states.'