Kilmar Abrego Garcia: deported because of Trump’s mistake. Outrage and demand to bring back
16 april 2025 в 23:13
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a resident of Maryland and a legally protected immigrant, was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March 2025 due to what the Trump administration recognized as an «administrative error».
The 29-year-old man fled El Salvador as a teenager to escape gang violence. According to The Hill, members of the Barrio 18 gang threatened to kill him, trying to extort money from his mother, the owner of a pupusa shop. In 2019, he was granted «withholding of removal» status, allowing him to legally live and work in the US. Despite this protection, he was suddenly detained and deported in March.
Abrego Garcia’s case has raised widespread concern over executive overreach, due process violations, and the current state of immigration enforcement. Learn more about his situation and where he is now.
Abrego Garcia was deported during a broader campaign to combat immigration by the Trump administration, which quickly organized charter flights to El Salvador for the deportation of a group of Venezuelan migrants. These individuals were accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang and were deported under the Enemy Alien Act — an 18th-century wartime law that gives the president the authority to remove non-citizens during a national conflict.
In February 2025, the Trump administration officially recognized MS-13 as a foreign terrorist organization and began aggressive efforts to remove suspected members. As part of this policy, officials expressed their intention to continue deporting non-citizens to CECOT — El Salvador’s mega prison known as the Center for Terrorist Detention, even in cases like Abrego Garcia’s, where evidence of gang affiliation is unclear or disputed. The US currently pays El Salvador $ 6 million for detaining individuals it accuses of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang for one year.
It is unclear whether Abrego Garcia will be allowed to return to the US, although many continue to insist on his safe return to his family and home. Despite a US Supreme Court decision that this lawful resident should be returned, both the Trump administration and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele have made it clear that they will not facilitate his return.
«He is an illegal immigrant who is illegally living in our country from El Salvador. ICE testified, an immigration judge found him to be a member of MS-13. An appellate judge found him to be a member of MS-13. End of story», - said Attorney General Pam Bondi at a press briefing on April 16. «He should not be in our country».
Upon his arrival, Van Hollen stated, «I may be the first senator or member of Congress to go to El Salvador, but people will continue to come until he comes home». His request to visit Abrego Garcia was denied.
After arriving in the US, Abrego Garcia built a life for himself in Maryland. According to TIME, court records show that he married and raised three children with disabilities. His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, is a US citizen. The couple is raising one child together, and Sura has two children from a previous marriage
The 29-year-old man fled El Salvador as a teenager to escape gang violence. According to The Hill, members of the Barrio 18 gang threatened to kill him, trying to extort money from his mother, the owner of a pupusa shop. In 2019, he was granted «withholding of removal» status, allowing him to legally live and work in the US. Despite this protection, he was suddenly detained and deported in March.
Abrego Garcia’s case has raised widespread concern over executive overreach, due process violations, and the current state of immigration enforcement. Learn more about his situation and where he is now.
Abrego Garcia was deported during a broader campaign to combat immigration by the Trump administration, which quickly organized charter flights to El Salvador for the deportation of a group of Venezuelan migrants. These individuals were accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang and were deported under the Enemy Alien Act — an 18th-century wartime law that gives the president the authority to remove non-citizens during a national conflict.
In February 2025, the Trump administration officially recognized MS-13 as a foreign terrorist organization and began aggressive efforts to remove suspected members. As part of this policy, officials expressed their intention to continue deporting non-citizens to CECOT — El Salvador’s mega prison known as the Center for Terrorist Detention, even in cases like Abrego Garcia’s, where evidence of gang affiliation is unclear or disputed. The US currently pays El Salvador $ 6 million for detaining individuals it accuses of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang for one year.
It is unclear whether Abrego Garcia will be allowed to return to the US, although many continue to insist on his safe return to his family and home. Despite a US Supreme Court decision that this lawful resident should be returned, both the Trump administration and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele have made it clear that they will not facilitate his return.
«He is an illegal immigrant who is illegally living in our country from El Salvador. ICE testified, an immigration judge found him to be a member of MS-13. An appellate judge found him to be a member of MS-13. End of story», - said Attorney General Pam Bondi at a press briefing on April 16. «He should not be in our country».
Upon his arrival, Van Hollen stated, «I may be the first senator or member of Congress to go to El Salvador, but people will continue to come until he comes home». His request to visit Abrego Garcia was denied.
After arriving in the US, Abrego Garcia built a life for himself in Maryland. According to TIME, court records show that he married and raised three children with disabilities. His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, is a US citizen. The couple is raising one child together, and Sura has two children from a previous marriage
© Kolganov Andrey
