Kilmar Abrego Garcia was supposed to be safe in the US – a federal judge had said that. Now he is in a Salvadoran prison while the Trump government defends his deportation and encourages him as a violent MS-13 gang member. His family and lawyers strongly deny all bend tires.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran who lives in the eastern state of Maryland and was married to an American citizen, was arrested by the immigration police on 12 March. He was then deported on March 15 to a notorious prison in El Salvador as part of President Donald Trump's migration.
The push to burn him as dangerous escalated this week after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had released documents in which his earlier meetings of law enforcement were explained, which none of them led to criminal convictions.
The case has become political, with democratic senator Chris van Hollen van Maryland El Salvador visited to meet his deported voters and to call it an “illegal kidnapping”.
The White House closed the journey of the senator and accused Democrats and the media of the alleged record of Abrego Garcia of Soft Pedalling. White House Pers Secretary Karoline Leavitt labeled him a gang member and 'apparent female beater'.
Some documents said
New police documents show that ABREGO Garcia was arrested in a home depot in Maryland in March 2019, CNN reported. The police claimed two men, which were later marijuana. While a man was identified as an MS-13 member, Abrego Garcia was not charged but was held by immigration officials.
The documents described the clothing of Abrego Garcia – including a hoodie and chicago bulls -hat – as a looking gang -related clothing. An unnamed informant claimed that he was part of MS-13's Westerns Clique, although this was never substantiated in court.
At the time, he was also reportedly linked to a murder investigation, although the data did not provide any details and no charges were filed.
Despite inconsistent statements about his fear of returning to El Salvador, immigration judge David Jones found Abrego Garcia credible. The court granted him from removal – a ruling that protected him against deportation based on the risk of prosecution.
The DHS has also released a 2021 protected order that was submitted by the wife of Abrego Garcia, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, who later dropped. In the complaint she quoted an argument that became physical, so that she remained injured. Later, however, she said that the order was a precautionary measure based on trauma from the past and that the couple solved their problems due to counseling.
“It has not escalated and I decided not to follow the civil court process,” she said. “Our marriage only became stronger in the years that followed.”
She claims that the order should not be used as a reason for deportation.
At the end of 2022, Abrego Garcia was stopped in Tennessee for fast driving while driving a group of people. The DHS report, released on Friday, proposed potential human trafficking because of the number of passengers and the lack of luggage. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the stop 'stinks of human trafficking'.
However, no costs were submitted. Vasquez Sura said her husband worked in construction and often transported employees.
“He was not accused of a crime or quoted for misconduct,” she said. “Unfortunately Kilmar is currently locked up without contact with the outside world, which means that he cannot respond to the claims or defend himself.”
The federal court that supervises the case has repeatedly asked the Ministry of Justice to support the deportation. So far, civil servants have not provided formal charges or convictions against Abrego Garcia.
Legal Fallout
According to David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, immigration judges are often in default of law enforcement claims, even if not verified.
“Every derogatory information, no matter how weak, will give the scales against the release in that situation,” said beer. “The burden of proof lies with the applicant.”
Although the Trump government had the option to appeal against the 2019 decision to protect Abrego Garcia against deportation, this did not effectively led to its release.
