El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said on Monday he would not return a man mistakenly deported from the United States as he met with US President Donald Trump.

Trump welcomed Bukele to the Oval Office, as the pair faced questions from reporters on the case of a father who was deported to the Salvadoran mega-prison following what has been called an administrative error.

The US Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, after he was sent to an anti-terrorism prison in El Salvador, as part of a Trump administration crackdown on suspected gang members.

However, Bukele said returning Abrego Garcia would not be possible, telling reporters: "Of course, I'm not going to do it. The question is preposterous.... I don't have the power to return him to the United States."

What did Bukele and Trump discuss?

Trump appeared pleased with his partnership with Bukele, even calling on him to build more prisons to house people deported from the US. The two already sealed a deal according to which the US can send prisoners to El Salvador for a fee of $6 million (€5.3 million).

The US president said he was considering deporting some US citizens to El Salvador, citing "criminals who push people into subways, that hit old ladies on the back of the head with a baseball bat."

Trump and Bukele share a fondness for strongman leadership, with both having referred to themselves as "dictators," even if they may claim this to be tongue in cheek.

Bukele has been accused of human rights violations in his massive crackdown on drug gangs

Despite their closeness, El Salvador was included in Trump's 10% tariff list earlier in the month. Most of the Central American country's exports go to the US.

White House clashes with courts over deportation

Trump referred questions about Abrego Garcia to his Attorney General Pam Bondi, alleging that an immigration court and appellate court had ruled he was a member of the MS-13 gang.

Abrego Garcia's lawyers have denied the allegation that he is a gang member, saying the US has presented no credible evidence substantiating its claim.

"He was illegally in our country," Bondi said. "That's up to El Salvador if they want to return him, that's not up to us."

Bondi added the US would provide an airplane to return Abrego Garcia if El Salvador decided to send him back.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was also present in the Oval Office during the meeting, added: "The foreign policy of the United States is conducted by the President of the United States, not by a court."

The case has paved the way for a showdown between the Trump administration and US courts, sparking fears of a constitutional crisis.

The Trump administration has argued all along it does not have jurisdiction to have Abrego Garcia released now that he is on Salvadoran soil.

How was Garcia deported in the first place?

Abrego Garcia had been living in the eastern state of Maryland and had received a work permit and protected legal status in 2019 over "well-founded fear" of gang persecution in his home country.

That same year, local police had accused him of being affiliated with the notorious MS-13 gang, something which he has continually denied. Based on these claims, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement had listed Abrego Garcia as a "certified" gang member. 

His attorneys say Abrego Garcia was never charged with a crime. 

Nevertheless, he was stopped and detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on March 12, and deported in one of the three high-profile flights to El Salvador, along with other alleged gang members.

Garcia's family challenged the legality of the deportation at the US district court which led to the April 4 ruling.

Garcia is married to an American citizen with whom he is raising a child, along with two children from his wife's previous marriage.

What have US judicial authorities said about Garcia's deportation?

Abrego Garcia was among more than 200 people sent to a massive anti-terrorism prison in El Salvador, as part of a Trump administration crackdown on suspected gang members in cooperation with El Salvador's government.

Following his deportation, lower courts had ordered the US government on April 4 to return him to the US by Monday April 7, but the Supreme Court put that order on hold following a request by the Trump administration to throw out the lower court's ruling.

On April 10, the Supreme Court upheld the decision and said that the judge's order "properly requires the government to 'facilitate' Abrego Garcia's release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador."

"To this day, the government has cited no basis in law for Abrego Garcia's warrantless arrest, his removal to El Salvador, or his confinement in a Salvadoran prison. Nor could it," liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a statement. 

The administration had requested "an order from this court permitting it to leave Abrego Garcia, a husband and father without a criminal record, in a Salvadoran prison for no reason recognized by the law," the statement continued.

Lower court judge Paula Xinis, who had issued the initial order in question, said Thursday the US must "take all available steps to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia to the United States as soon as possible."

Edited by: Alex Berry