A Maryland man’s efforts to return to the US after being mistakenly deported to El Salvador last month hit a major new roadblock on Monday when the country’s president vowed to keep the father of three locked in a notorious mega-prison.

Later in 2019, a U.S. immigration judge shielded Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faced persecution there by local gangs that had terrorized his family. The Trump administration deported him there anyway, later describing the mistake as “an administrative error” but insisting he was in MS-13.

The legal battle continues as both President Trump and El Salvadoran President Bukele both claim they lack the ability to return Abrego Garcia.