Deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia | |
|---|---|
| Citizenship | El Salvador |
| Known for | deportation to Terrorism Confinement Center |
| Children | 1 |
Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran national who resided in Maryland, United States, and was deported to the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador in March 2025. Despite having U.S. legal status protecting him from removal to El Salvador since 2019 along with a wife and five-year-old child that were both American citizens, he was deported due to what the Trump administration alleged was "an administrative error".[1] The Trump administration has since argued that this error cannot be rectified by American courts since they have no jurisdiction over Abrego Garcia in El Salvador. His deportation has garnered significant attention, highlighting issues within the U.S. immigration system and the immigration policy of the second Donald Trump administration.
Background
[edit]Abrego Garcia illegally entered the United States[2] in 2011, at the age of 16.[3] According to his lawyers, he had been fleeing gang violence. He applied for asylum in 2019 and was denied.[4] However, a judge granted him "withholding of removal" status due to the threat that gangs would pose to him if he returned to El Salvador.[3] He settled in Maryland with his family. His spouse is a U.S. citizen as is his child, five at the time of his deportation.[3] According to his attorney, Abrego Garcia had no criminal record.[3]
While in the U.S., an informant alleged that Abrego Garcia was linked to the MS-13 criminal gang (MS-13), which he consistently denied.[5] These allegations were presented to an immigration judge who reviewed the evidence and granted Abrego Garcia protected legal status from deportation.[3]
Deportation and legal proceedings
[edit]| Abrego Garcia v. Noem | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | United States District Court for the District of Maryland |
| Started | March 24, 2025 |
| Docket nos. | 8:25-cv-00951 |
| Court membership | |
| Judge sitting | Paula Xinis |
On March 15, 2025, the Trump administration sent "three planeloads" of Salvadoran and Venezuelan deportees, including Abrego Garcia, to the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador, alleging that they were members of criminal organizations.[3] Abrego Garcia's attorneys are seeking court intervention to compel the administration to facilitate his return.[3] The U.S. government later acknowledged to the court that the government had been aware of Abrego Garcia's legal immigration status, stating in a court filing that "[a]lthough ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error."[3] This admission marked the first acknowledgment of a mistake related to the deportation of multiple individuals on March 15.[3]
Despite acknowledging the error, the Trump administration has argued that the court lacks jurisdiction to order the return of Abrego Garcia, as he is no longer in U.S. custody.[3] White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt alleged that he was a leader within MS-13 and had been involved in human trafficking. Leavitt used the different words "clerical error"[6] and stated that she had proof from the Department of Homeland Security but did not produce it.[7] Vice President JD Vance publicly backed the deportation, writing that Abrego Garcia was "convicted" of being a member of MS-13. Abrego Garcia had never been convicted of participating in a gang. However, in 2019, a judge stated that informant testimony suggested that he had, in a ruling that was later upheld.[2]
In response to headlines stating “Fed judge orders deportation flights carrying alleged Venezuelan gangbangers to the US, blocks Trump from invoking Alien Enemies Act”, which included the flight carrying Abrego Garcia, the president of El Salvador Nayib Bukele tweeted "Oopsie…Too late 😂."[8]
Status
[edit]As of April 2025, Abrego Garcia remains imprisoned in El Salvador. The U.S. government's acknowledgment of the deportation error has sparked significant legal and political debate, raising concerns about the efficacy and fairness of U.S. immigration laws and procedures. Efforts by his attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, to secure his return to the United States are ongoing.[3] Sandoval-Moshenberg stated that the U.S. government was claiming "that the court is powerless to order any relief...If that's true, the immigration laws are meaningless—all of them—because the government can deport whoever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want, and no court can do anything about it once it’s done."[3]
Reactions
[edit]Democratic Governor of Maryland Wes Moore strongly condemned the deportation on the grounds of inadequate due process.[4] Mark Joseph Stern opined similarly.[9]
See also
[edit]- Detention of Mahmoud Khalil, another prominent case of immigration detention during the second Donald Trump administration
References
[edit]- ^ Romero, Laura (April 1, 2025). "ICE admits to an 'administrative error' after Maryland man sent to El Salvador prison". abcnews. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
- ^ a b Blake, Aaron; Hesse, Monica; Kennicott, Philip; Ahmed, Naema; Dionne, E. J.; Rein, Lisa; Birnbaum, Michael; Allison, Natalie; Stein, Jeff (April 1, 2025). "Analysis | JD Vance's strained claims about a wrongly deported man". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on April 1, 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
Vance on X called Abrego 'a convicted MS-13 gang member with no legal right to be here.' He added in a later post that a judge had 'determined that the deported man was, in fact, a member of the MS-13 gang.' [...] It's true that Abrego immigrated illegally, but it's not true that he has been 'convicted' of being a gang member or proved to be one. [...] An immigration judge in 2019 found that evidence Abrego was in MS-13 was 'sufficient' enough to detain him, and another judge later upheld that ruling, saying the claim that Abrego was in MS-13 wasn't clearly wrong, according to court documents. [...] the claim that Abrego was in MS-13 rested largely on someone the immigration judge deemed to be a credible informant and the fact that Abrego was wearing Chicago Bulls attire.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Miroff, Nick (March 30, 2025). "An 'Administrative Error' Sends a Maryland Father to a Salvadoran Prison". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on April 2, 2025.
- ^ a b Finley, Ben (April 2, 2025). "Outrage grows over Maryland man's mistaken deportation to El Salvador prison". AP News. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
- ^ "Trump administration admits 'error' in deporting Maryland resident to El Salvador". Politico. April 1, 2025.
- ^ Malcolm Ferguson, Karoline Leavitt Pulls a 180 After ICE Admits It Deported Wrong Guy, The New Republic, 1 April 2025.
- ^ "Watch Leavitt Squirm at Questions on Wrongly Deported Dad". The Daily Beast. April 1, 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
- ^ Correal, Annie (March 17, 2025). "El Salvador's President Sees Opportunity in Trump's Deportations". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ Stern, Mark Joseph (April 1, 2025). "Trump Is Asking the Supreme Court To Let Him Have Black Sites". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved April 2, 2025.