Maryland man Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador,March 15, after President Donald Trump’s administration accused him of being gang affiliated and the Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele has since refused to return him.
In light of the Trump administration’s combating of United States immigration and citizenship statuses, Abrego Garcia was accused of being a Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang member.
Born in El Salvador, Abrego Garcia faced death threats from the gang Barrio 18, which prompted him to cross the United States (U.S.) border as an unauthorized immigrant. There, he lived as a Maryland resident for 13 years and started a family with his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura. Whilst living in the U.S., Abrego Garcia faced legal challenges, including his arrest in 2019 for allegedly loitering outside of a Home Depot store, a run-in that led to accusations of being an MS-13 gang member.
The Prince George County Police Department alleged that they held an interrogation with an anonymous and reliable informant that asserted Abrego Garcia was an active gang member. Due to his speeding incident with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Abrego Garcia’s license was found to be expired, thus leading to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) being informed of his previous MS-13 allegations.
Consequently, despite his 2019 order that legally prevented him from being sent to El Salvador for safety reasons, the Trump administration had him deported March 15. When Vasquez Sura was called by a member of the Department of Homeland Security to pick up her son, Abrego Garcia was handcuffed on the curb and prepared for deportation.
The officers claimed that his immigration status had changed.
Upon arrival in El Salvador, he was incarcerated in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) mega-prison and prohibited from communicating externally. Vasquez Sura was also unable to communicate with her husband and filed a federal lawsuit March 24. She was informed of Abrego Garcia’s status after he was temporarily released to meet with Senator Chris Van Hollen April 17. Vasquez Sura’s request to have Abrego Garcia released immediately has initiated a heated legal battle concerning the U.S.’s immigration policies and the actions of the Trump administration.
