BELTSVILLE, Md. — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, was arrested on March 12 following an encounter with federal immigration officers in Beltsville. Garcia, who lived in Prince George’s County, is married to Jennifer Vasquez Sura and is the father of a 5-year-old boy.
After being held by ICE for multiple days, Garcia was deported to the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador, a dangerous mega-prison used to hold gang members and violent criminals.
Garcia received threats from gangs in El Salvador, forcing him to flee to the U.S. as a teenager. Though he’s not a U.S. citizen currently, Garcia did go through the necessary immigration process to work legally in the United States.
The Trump administration acknowledged the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia was an administrative error but stated that it was carried out in good faith based on existing documentation. Robert Cerna, the field office director of Enforcement and Removal Operations for ICE, shared more in a declaration:
“Through administrative error, Abrego Garcia was removed from the United States to El Salvador. 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.”
U.S. officials have claimed Garcia was affiliated with MS-13, but his legal team asserts that no evidence has been presented to support this allegation. Garcia has remained imprisoned in El Salvador for nearly a month. According to administration officials, the U.S. cannot compel the Salvadoran government to release him.
The Supreme Court Weighs In
The fight to bring Kilmar Garcia back into the United States has been fraught with difficulty. Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government in late March in hopes of securing his return.
On April 4, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Garcia’s return by April 7. The Trump administration refused, stating that a district judge doesn’t have the proper authority.
A final ruling was made by the Supreme Court of the United States on April 10. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that Kilmar Garcia’s deportation was illegal and that he must be returned to the U.S.
The Trump administration has not yet released a statement regarding the Supreme Court’s decision.
It’s unclear exactly when Garcia might be released from the Terrorism Confinement Center, but every day spent in El Salvador is a threat to his life.
Garcia’s History in El Salvador
Garcia was born in El Salvador, but he fled as a teenager to escape Barrio 18, a gang that threatened his safety for many years. Though Garcia was born in El Salvador and initially entered the U.S. illegally, a court ruling from 2019 allowed him to work legally in the United States.
Past rulings also clarified that should Garcia ever be deported, he would not be sent to El Salvador due to the threats against his life. Garcia currently remains imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center, locked away with many members of the gang who threatened him.
According to a recent Supreme Court filing by his lawyers, Kilmar Garcia has no criminal record in the U.S. or El Salvador, leading the American public to question why he was imprisoned.
“Abrego Garcia has never been charged with a crime in any country. He is not wanted by the government of El Salvador. He sits in a foreign prison solely at the behest of the United States, as the product of a Kafkaesque mistake,” wrote Garcia’s legal team.
Officials from the Trump administration have maintained that Garcia’s deportation was an administrative accident but don’t believe U.S. district courts have the jurisdiction to order his swift return from El Salvador.
ICE has been ramping up its operations since January, often waiving proper due process for undocumented immigrants. If a thorough investigation isn’t conducted in each case, more wrongful deportations may occur in the future.
U.S. Citizens May Be Sent to El Salvador
Though many citizens of the U.S. are in favor of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants to El Salvador, there is a more controversial aspect. Recent reports, including a statement from the White House press secretary on April 8, suggest that President Trump would consider sending repeat offenders to prisons in other countries, but she conveyed that only violent criminals would be subject to this punishment.
“These would be heinous, violent criminals who have broken our nation’s laws repeatedly. These are violent, repeat offenders on American streets,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Opponents of this idea have been quick to note the downside. Sending American citizens to other countries would create worse situations for those falsely accused and may even prevent us from bringing them home.
Organizations like the National Registry of Exonerations have previously estimated that around 6% of prisoners in the United States could be wrongfully convicted, which might include repeat offenders.
Sending U.S. citizens to foreign prisons could save our government millions each year, but the human rights considerations would make it a tricky legal battle and possibly unrealistic.
As of April 11, 2025, the Trump administration is only deporting undocumented immigrants to offshore detention centers.
Contact our news desk at news@thebaynet.com
How can someone here undocumented and illegally be deported wrongfully oh smart journalist?
The guy is married to an American and he has been afforded protection from the court. Perhaps do some research before spouting Faux News talking points.
Incorrect. Jennifer Vasquez Sura is not a US citizen. Two wrongs don’t make a right.
boo hoo
What we know is a convicted felon is destroying our democracy and Americans and the Republicans are being complacent.
Your fake charges didn’t work, your party should spend more time running on policies that Americans agree with instead of election theft. Abrego Garcia was covered in MS13 tattoos.