Bondi said that a deported illegal immigrant whom the Supreme Court, as well as President Donald Trump’s critics, believe should be sent back to America will not return.

The Trump administration acknowledged that Kilmar Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant living in Maryland with a work permit issued since 2019, was deported to El Salvador in March despite a court order that blocked his removal.

U.S. officials said, however, in court documents filed on Sunday, that they weren’t obligated to assist Abrego Garcia get out of jail despite a Supreme Court decision directing the U.S. government to “facilitate his return to the U.S.”

Bondi went a step further during a Wednesday press conference to announce a suit against Maine. She stated that Abrego Garcia will not return, even though “one more step in paperwork” was not completed before deportation.

“He’s an illegal alien from El Salvador who has lived illegally in this country for a long time. ICE gave testimony, and an immigration judge ruled he belonged to MS-13. A judge on appeal ruled that he was indeed a member. He shouldn’t be in our country,” Bondi told reporters.

“He was deported. It took one more step to complete the paperwork, but MS-13 has now been categorized as an FTO or a foreign terrorist organisation. He is not returning to our country.”

During a meeting with Trump on Monday in the Oval Office, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said that he had no intention to return Garcia to the U.S.

“President Bukele stated that he would not be sending him back,” Bondi told journalists that the story was over. “If he sent him back, we’d give him a ride on the plane.”

“There was never a situation where [Garcia] would stay in this nation. None. He would have returned, done one more step of paperwork, and then gone back.”

Stephen Miller, the White House’s deputy chief of staff, insisted on Monday that Abrego Garcia could be deported despite a court order.

Miller stated, “His status was an illegal alien ordered to be deported. This means he could be detained indefinitely and sent anywhere in the world.”

Abrego Garcia had been granted protected status by an immigration judge, who determined that he would face gang violence in El Salvador if he were deported. He also held a work permit in the United States.