Trump says choice to bring deported ‘Maryland man’ Kilmar Abrego Garcia back ‘wasn’t my decision’

President Donald Trump told NBC News that it was the decision of the Department of Justice to return to the United States Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who had been wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March.

During a Saturday phone interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker, Trump was asked what went into his decision to bring Garcia back.

‘Well, that wasn’t my decision. The Department of Justice decided to do it that way, and that’s fine, as far as — there are two ways you could have done it, and they decided to do it that way,’ Trump told Welker.

‘I think for speed, and, you know, it should be a very easy case,’ Trump continued.

Welker then further pressed the Commander in Chief, asking, ‘you think, you think he’s going to be convicted– you think it’s going to be an easy case?’

‘I think it should be. It should be. You have two different cases. This would go faster,’ Trump replied.

Welker then asked Trump what he thought of Democrats who advocated for Garcia’s return, including Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who made a public case for Garcia being denied due process.

‘He’s a loser. The guy’s a loser. They’re going to lose because of that same thing. That’s not what people want to hear,’ Trump responded.

‘He’s trying to defend a man who’s got a horrible record of abuse, abuse of women in particular. No, he’s a total loser– this guy,’ Trump concluded.

‘He’s a loser. The guy’s a loser’ President Donald Trump said of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a ‘Maryland man’ who has been returned to the United States after being deported to El Salvador in March

US Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) holding a meeting with Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a US resident wrongfully deported to his home country, at a hotel in San Salvador on April 17, 2025

Documents made public by the Department of Justice show that Garcia ‘was validated as a member of the Mara Salvatrucha (MSl3) Gang’ in 2019, also noting at the time that he did not claim  ‘fear of returning to his country.’

This undated photo provided by CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, in April 2025, shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia

During a press conference that took place Friday as Garcia was returning to the United States, Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a series of charges against Garcia, who was allegedly part of an international smuggling ring.

‘Over the past nine years, Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring,’ Bondi noted Friday.

‘They found this was his full time job, not a contractor. He was a smuggler of humans and children and women,’ Bondi continued. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche held a news conference about Kilmar Abrego Garcia at the Justice Department, Friday June 6, 2025, in Washington

‘Over the past nine years, Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring,’ Bondi noted Friday

A CBS News poll released Sunday showed that 54% of respondents approved of the Trump Administration’s program to deport immigrants in the United States illegally. 

53% of poll respondents said they believed that the Administration is prioritizing the deportation of dangerous criminals.

Notably, CBS News also found that 55% of poll respondents liked the goals of Trump’s deportation program, while 56% disliked his approach.