The Trump administration has acknowledged in a federal court filing that it wrongfully deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who was legally protected from removal, due to what officials called an “administrative error” and “oversight.”
The deportation sent Abrego Garcia to a supermax prison in El Salvador, despite a judge’s ruling in 2019 granting him protection under U.S. immigration law.
The case, now at the center of a growing legal and political firestorm, has raised serious concerns about immigration enforcement mistakes, the handling of deportation flights, and the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on alleged gang members under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
Who is Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
Abrego Garcia arrived in the U.S. in 2011 at age 16, fleeing gang violence in El Salvador. He later settled in Maryland with his wife and their disabled 5-year-old U.S. citizen son.
In 2019, a U.S. immigration judge ruled that sending him back to El Salvador would place him at serious risk, granting him a legal status called “withholding of removal.”
Despite this legal protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported him on March 15, during a mass deportation flight targeting alleged gang members from Venezuela and El Salvador.
The deportation flight has since become the focus of a legal challenge, especially after Judge James Boasberg blocked similar removals citing due process concerns.
Was He Really a Gang Member?
The U.S. government insists Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13, one of the world’s most violent gangs, and cites an informant’s claim and the fact that he wore a Chicago Bulls hoodie when arrested in 2019 as part of the evidence.
The arrest occurred outside a Home Depot in Hyattsville, Maryland, where Abrego Garcia was looking for work.
However, his lawyers say these accusations are based on “whispers and shadows.” They say the only “evidence” is the confidential informant’s claim and the hoodie, adding that he has no criminal record, and had never lived in Long Island, New York — the area where the gang is allegedly active.
Furthermore, his name was not included in the police report from the day of his arrest, and the detective who claimed gang ties was suspended, his lawyers say.
DHS and Trump Officials Defend Deportation
Despite the acknowledged mistake, the Justice Department is now refusing to request his return from El Salvador.
Officials argue that federal courts don’t have the authority to order his return, especially since he’s now in custody abroad.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security doubled down, saying, “Whether he be in El Salvador or a detention facility in the U.S., he should be locked up.”
Vice President JD Vance also weighed in on social media, dismissing the outcry as media propaganda and labeling Abrego Garcia “an illegal immigrant with no right to be in our country.”
Legal and Human Rights Concerns
Abrego Garcia’s lawyer, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, called the government’s stance “appalling,” noting that in past wrongful deportation cases, officials had quickly worked to correct the error.
“He’s not a gang member. He has no criminal record. He was granted protection by a judge. The U.S. violated that order,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said.
Beyond the individual case, advocates argue this incident reflects broader concerns about due process, racial profiling, and a broken immigration system.
Critics fear that mass deportation efforts under the banner of national security may be sweeping up individuals without solid evidence, and even those with legal protections.