What we know about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, man mistakenly deported to El Salvador
A judge has ordered that the Trump administration “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the US, an order supported by the Supreme Court.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia was living in Maryland with his wife and three children when he was deported to El Salvador, thrusting his case into the center of a pivotal legal battle. The Trump administration has accused him of being a member of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang and used that in its justification for deporting him to his home country — despite a judge’s order from 2019 barring him from being sent there.
The father who had lived in Maryland for 13 years is now being held in a notorious megaprison. The administration has called his incarceration there an “administrative error.” His wife and attorney deny the accusations against him and have been fighting for his return. They say he is a loving father and husband. He has never been charged with or convicted of a crime in the United States, records show.
The legal fight over his return is ongoing. A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release, an order affirmed by the Supreme Court, and to provide evidence of the actions it has taken to get him back. The administration has since doubled down on its accusations that Abrego Garcia was a gang member and has said that because he is now in El Salvador, it does not have the authority to bring him back.
After weeks of outcry and no trace of Abrego Garcia, he was temporarily released from prison on April 17 to meet with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland.
Abrego Garcia was shown in a photo wearing a button-down short-sleeved shirt and cap, sitting at a table with the senator. It is unclear what the two discussed, but Van Hollen said he called Abrego Garcia’s wife “to pass along his message of love.”
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