Human rights groups have called for the immediate release of Ruth López, whose whereabouts are unknown since her arrest by police in El Salvador late Sunday.
Bukele had announced that all bus fares for a week would be completely free due to construction the government was carrying out on one of the main highways running through San Salvador.
The week was dominated by news about the Maryland man illegally deported to El Salvador. But there was also concern over tariffs and Robert F. Kennedy's work as Health and Human Services secretary.
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen went to El Salvador to lobby for the release of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, whose deportation has gripped the U.S. He isn't the only lawmaker with such a trip in mind.
The government sent several planeloads of alleged gang members to El Salvador, including 137 people under the act, the White House said at the time. The judge gave the U.S. until April 23 to respond.
The hearing is the first about Abrego Garcia's case since El Salvador's president told reporters he is not going to "smuggle a terrorist into the United States."
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele and several top Trump administration officials dismissed questions about the fate of a Maryland man wrongfully deported to El Salvador.
El Salvador's President Bukele heads to the White House to discuss further cooperation with the U.S., including the continued use of El Salvador's supermax prison for deported migrants.
A federal judge in Maryland wants the government to "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S. after the Supreme Court largely upheld her original order.
The order marks a win for the Trump administration, even if temporary, and it could well be a harbinger of things to come as the administration continues to clash with federal courts.
This latest case, in which lawyers argue their client had no proven links to MS-13, adds to the growing judicial and public scrutiny about the deportations to El Salvador's notorious mega-prison.
The American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward sued the Trump administration over its use of the wartime law to quickly deport people, which they say violates due process.
Judge James Boasberg had earlier asked the Trump administration to provide more details about weekend flights that deported hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador — despite his order to turn the planes around.
