Trump Denies Requesting Return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador

April 25, 2025 / 9:16 PM EDT / CBS News

President Trump said he has not asked Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to hand over Kilmar Abrego Garcia to U.S. custody, though the U.S. has admitted deporting him to El Salvador was a mistake. In an interview published Friday Mr. Trump called Abrego Garcia's case "another men in women's sports thing for the Democrats."

"I haven't asked him positively, but he said he wouldn't," Mr. Trump replied when asked by Time magazine whether he had requested that Bukele return Abrego Garcia, given that a court order requires the administration to "facilitate" his release. "I haven't been asked to ask him by my attorneys. Nobody asked me to ask him that question, except you."

Trump administration officials have argued they can't return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. because it's up to Bukele to decide whether to send him back. But Bukele claimed in a White House meeting earlier this month he doesn't "have the power" to return him on his own. "I smuggle him into the United States or what do I do? Of course, I'm not going to do it. The question is preposterous," Bukele told reporters.

The case has sparked a legal standoff. Abrego Garcia, who entered the U.S. illegally in 2011, was sent to CECOT, a maximum security Salvadoran prison, last month along with hundreds of other migrants, even though a judge previously barred him from being sent to El Salvador. Federal officials have described his removal as an "administrative error," but have not brought him back despite a court ruling - affirmed by the Supreme Court - that said the administration must facilitate his return. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has said the Trump administration hasn't followed her orders.

Earlier this month, Abrego Garcia was moved from CECOT to a lower-security facility.

Mr. Trump argued to Time that his administration is obeying the courts. He also said it "wouldn't bother me" if Abrego Garcia were brought back to the United States and put through the American court system, but it's up to his administration's attorneys.

As some high-profile elected Democrats push for Abrego Garcia's return, Mr. Trump suggested he views the case as a political positive. "I think this is another men in women's sports thing for the Democrats," he said -- likely alluding to debates over transgender athletes' participation in women's sports, which was a central focus of Mr. Trump's 2024 campaign messaging.

When asked whether Abrego Garcia "deserves his day in court," Mr. Trump called him a member of the notorious MS-13 gang and a "wife beater," repeating allegations made by his administration for weeks. Abrego Garcia's attorneys have denied MS-13 membership and noted he hasn't been charged with a crime. Abrego Garcia's wife accused him of domestic violence in a 2021 protective order request, though she has since told reporters the situation didn't escalate, and she chose not to move forward with the court process.

Joe Walsh is a senior editor for digital politics at CBS News. Joe previously covered breaking news for Forbes and local news in Boston.