ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — President Trump said Friday he would respect a Supreme Court decision to bring back a Maryland man the administration mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
“If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back I would do that. I respect the Supreme Court,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to Florida for the weekend.
“I have great respect for the Supreme Court,” he added.
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to lift a judge’s order requiring the Trump administration to “facilitate” the return of Kilmer Abrego Garcia.
The court’s emergency ruling instructs the lower judge to clarify the language of her order but said she acted properly in ensuring that Abrego Garcia’s case is handled “as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”
The White House earlier Friday tempered expectations about the lengths it would go to in order to bring back Abrego Garcia.
“The Supreme Court made their ruling last night very clear that it’s the administration’s responsibility to facilitate the return, not to effectuate the return,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis at a hearing Friday afternoon scolded the Justice Department for demanding more time to update the court on next steps after the department attempted to impose delays on the case.