Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said he agreed with the Supreme Court’s Thursday decision requiring that the Trump administration facilitate the return of a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
“He should be returned and obviously they should follow the law there,” Lawler said at a CNN town hall.
However, Lawler went on to praise President Trump’s stance on immigration.
“If somebody commits a violent offense in this country, if they commit a crime, they should be deported, period,” the congressman said.
In the court’s emergency ruling issued late Thursday, the Supreme Court instructed the lower court judge to clarify the language of her order, but said she acted properly in ensuring that Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s case is handled “as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”
Abrego Garcia is a Salvadorian National who has lived in Maryland since 2011, when he was 16 years old. An immigration judge issued an order in 2019 preventing authorities from deporting him to El Salvador amid concerns he could face violence in the country.
However, Abrego Garcia was still aboard one of a number of flights on March 15 that left the U.S. and arrived in El Salvador. The Trump administration has since blamed it on an “administrative error” but said it does not have the power to bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S.
Trump campaigned heavily on the issue of immigration during his run for the White House in 2024. Lawler is running for reelection in 2026 in one of the most competitive House districts. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Lawler’s seat in New York’s 17th congressional district as a “toss-up.”
