Less than a day after the Supreme Court said the Trump administration had to “facilitate” the return of a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador, the case appeared headed for even murkier waters.

His legal presence in the US was based on a protection known as “withholding of removal,” which was granted by an immigration judge in 2019. That status is awarded when a judge determines that deporting someone would expose them to persecution or torture in their home country.

The next day, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to provide immediate information on his whereabouts. Michael Kozak, a senior bureau official in the State Department, filed a brief April 12 affirming Abrego Garcia was alive.