Trump admin reveals Rubio is leading negotiations with El Salvador to return deported migrant

The Trump administration disclosed in court filings on Monday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is overseeing negotiations with El Salvador to return a migrant who was wrongly deported to the South American country.

The court filing was regarding the deportation of a 20-year-old migrant identified as Cristian, who came to the United States as an unaccompanied minor, and was protected from deportation under a previous court order. A judge has since ordered his return, but it is not clear if the Trump administration will be able to successfully negotiate his return.

The administration informed the court that Rubio is leading the discussions with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele because of his long-standing relationship with the leader.

“Based on his deep diplomatic experience with El Salvador and the secretary’s familiarity with political and diplomatic sensitivities in that country, he is personally handling the discussions with the government of El Salvador regarding persons subject to the court’s order detained in El Salvador,” the State Department said in a statement included in the filing.

The statement added that Rubio "wants to ensure the court he is making prompt and diligent efforts” to comply with its order to return the young migrant. 

Bukele has not indicated whether he is open to returning Cristian, who is a Venezuelan migrant, but he previously said he would not release another migrant that a court had protected from deportation, Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.