Attorney General Pam Bondi: MS-13 Gang Member Kilmar Abrego Garcia “Is Not Coming Back to Our Country”
Attorney General Pam Bondi delivered a definitive response to mounting media pressure and legal noise surrounding Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national deported from the United States in March, and whose case has become a political lightning rod. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Bondi made it crystal clear:
“He is not coming back to our country. President Bukele said he was not sending him back. That’s the end of the story.”
Background: Who Is Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
Garcia entered the U.S. illegally in 2011 as a teenager. In 2019, he was granted “withholding of removal” — a narrow immigration protection offered to those who can demonstrate a credible threat if returned to their home country. However, his legal status quickly unraveled as two different U.S. immigration judges determined that Garcia was a member of the violent MS-13 gang, which was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the Trump administration in 2025.
Despite his claims of being a victim of gang violence, the courts concluded that Garcia himself was affiliated with the gang, rendering him ineligible for protection under U.S. immigration law.
Bondi Rebukes Media and Clarifies Supreme Court Ruling
In recent weeks, liberal media outlets and Democratic lawmakers have portrayed Garcia as a “Maryland man” and a family man unjustly deported. Bondi swiftly shut down that narrative:
“He is an illegal alien who has been living illegally in our country from El Salvador. ICE testified, and an immigration judge ruled, he was a member of MS-13. An appellate judge ruled he was a member of MS-13. Hard stop.”
Bondi further addressed confusion over a recent Supreme Court ruling directing the U.S. government to “facilitate” Garcia’s return. She clarified that the ruling does not compel the federal government to retrieve him:
“Facilitate means we provide a plane if President Bukele decides to send him back. There was no situation ever where he was going to stay in this country. None, none.”
The Legal Implications
According to Bondi, the legal paperwork issue that led to the Supreme Court’s involvement was merely procedural. Had Garcia returned, the Trump Administration would have immediately deported him again under the newly expanded FTO guidelines:
“He would have come back, had one extra step of paperwork, and gone back again.”
Her remarks align with the Department of Justice’s recent filings in which officials stated that if Garcia were to arrive at a U.S. port of entry, he would be detained and deported again—either to a third country or back to El Salvador.
Bukele’s Position: No Return
Adding further weight to Bondi’s assertion, El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has repeatedly refused to release Garcia from the high-security Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) where he is currently incarcerated. In a fiery rebuke to American reporters, Bukele stated:
“How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? Of course I’m not going to do it.”
Final Word: “He Should Not Be in Our Country”
Bondi ended the press conference with a sharp summary that reflects the Trump administration’s broader immigration philosophy:
“He should not be in our country. He was deported. The law was followed. That’s what matters.”
As legal wrangling continues in courtrooms and newsrooms, the message from the Trump administration is unequivocal: violent foreign criminals will not be permitted to stay—and they will not be welcomed back.
