How the Supreme Court Abandoned Kilmar Abrego Garcia

The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia is probably the most viscerally grotesque thing the Trump administration has done, which is saying something. To recap:

• The administration summarily deported several hundred men alleged to be Venezuelan gang members to a gulag in El Salvador, even as a federal judge told them to turn the plane around;

• Everyone, the Trump administration included, agrees that at least one of these men, a Maryland resident named Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, was mistakenly deported;

• The Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” the return of Abrego Garcia, but was careful not to require them to “effectuate” his return. In other words, Trump must attempt to have Abrego Garcia returned, but because El Salvador is a sovereign nation that could theoretically refuse to cooperate, he’s not required to ensure it actually happens.

The Supreme Court’s ruling was wildly dangerous because it gives Trump permission to lie: he can very easily claim that he tried and failed to have Abrego Garcia returned, even if he never did.

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