Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he won’t reveal discussions about facilitating the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
“Well, I’ll never tell you that. And you know who else I’ll never tell? A judge,” Mr. Rubio said during Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting. “Because the conduct of all foreign policy belongs to the president of the United States and the executive branch, not some judge.
“So we will conduct foreign policy appropriately if we need to. But I’ll never discuss it and no one will ever make us discuss it because that’s how foreign policy works.”
President Trump said in an interview that aired Tuesday night that he “could” get Mr. Abrego Garcia, the illegal immigrant living in Maryland and deported to El Salvador, back, but he won’t because he’s not the “gentleman” that people think he is.
When asked Wednesday if he thought El Salvador President Nayib Bukele would send the man back, Mr. Trump said he didn’t know but touted the good relationship the U.S. has with El Salvador.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland Wednesday reiterated her call for the Trump administration to provide information on efforts to bring Mr. Abrego Garcia back.
Mr. Rubio said the administration has spoken to other countries, telling them that if they want a “good relationship” with the U.S., “you need to take back your people that are here illegally.”
“We’ve had historic cooperation beyond that, and I say this unapologetically — we are actively searching for other countries to take people from third countries,” he said.
“We’re active, not just in El Salvador, we are working with other countries to say, ’We want to send you some of the most despicable human beings to your countries; will you do that as a favor to us?’
He said the “further away from America, the better, so they can’t come back across the border.”
