The Trump administration said it made an “administrative error” in deporting a Maryland man to a prison in El Salvador. Although the man has a protected legal status, the administration said he has alleged ties to local gangs and is refusing to bring him back to the United States.
Abrego Garcia is a 29-year-old man who has been living in Maryland with his wife, who is a U.S. citizen, and their child.
Who is Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia?
He “left El Salvador when he was around sixteen years old, fleeing gang violence,” according to his lawyer’s complaint, as reported by the Associated Press. “Beginning around 2006, gang members had stalked, hit, and threatened to kidnap and kill him in order to coerce his parents to succumb to their increasing demands for extortion.”
In 2019, Abrego Garcia was deemed to be a likely member of the MS-13 gang by an immigration judge following claims from an informant. He contested the decision and the court found that his fear of torture and persecution was credible, according to Politico.
Court documents of the time do not describe Abrego Garcia as a convicted gang member. Instead, it was noted that he should not be deported to El Salvador because it was “more likely than not that he would be persecuted by gangs,” his lawyer’s complaint notes, per the Associated Press.
“Although he has been accused of general ‘gang affiliation,’ the U.S. government has never produced an iota of evidence to support this unfounded accusation,” the complaint indicated, adding that he is not affiliated with any gangs.
Why was Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia deported?
The man was arrested on March 12 after ending his shift as a sheet metal worker apprentice at a construction site in Baltimore. He was deported on March 15 and sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center, also referred to as CECOT. Abrego Garcia was identified as being one of the prisoners by his wife.
The prison was opened in 2022 as El Salvador President Nayib Bukele started to crack down on gang violence in the country. CECOT can hold up to 40,000 inmates, with each cell holding 65 to 70 prisoners. It is known as a mega-prison where prisoners aren’t allowed outdoors and has been accused of violating human rights after allegations of abuse, torture and lack of medical care, according to NPR.
Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador alongside over 100 Venezuelan nationals under the Alien Enemies Act under claims that they have ties to criminal gangs. The act is a wartime order that allows the president to detain or deport citizens of an enemy nation. It has been used three times in U.S. history, according to The Brennan Center.
An ‘administrative error’ that may have gone against court orders.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials admitted to the error on Monday. The Trump administration then said that ICE “was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador” but deported Abrego Garcia “because of an administrative error.” It reiterated his alleged gang ties and argued he was a danger to the country.
“This was an oversight, and the removal was carried out in good faith based on the existence of a final order of removal and Abrego-Garcia’s purported membership in MS-13,” Robert Cerna, the ICE acting field office director of enforcement and removal operations, wrote in a statement, according to the Associated Press.
Federal judge James Boasberg previously ordered the March 15 flights to be halted or turned around. It appears the Trump administration went against his order. He also currently put a stop to further deportations from being conducted under the Alien Enemies Act.
