Trump says Department of Justice made decision to bring back Abrego Garcia

8/6/2025 7:37

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday it was the Department of Justice, not him, that made the decision to bring back to the U.S. a man mistakenly deported from Maryland to El Salvador. Kilmar Abrego Garcia was flown back to face criminal charges of transporting illegal immigrants within the U.S., Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Friday.



His return marked an inflection point in a case seized on by critics of Trump's immigration crackdown as a sign that his administration was disregarding civil liberties in its push to step up deportations of migrants.



"Well, that wasn't my decision. The Department of Justice decided to do it that way, and that's fine," Trump told NBC News in an interview when asked about Abrego Garcia's return. Trump added that he had not spoken to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele about the move.