Who is Kilmar Abrego Garcia? Man returns to US after wrongful deportation
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Federal judge hears from Trump admin, Kilmar Abrego Garcia lawyers
A federal judge in Maryland heard from lawyers from both sides in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the father wrongfully detained by ICE.
After being wrongly deported to the his native country of El Salvador earlier this year, Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to the United States where he will face human trafficking charges, Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed.
The U.S. sent Abrego Garcia, 29, back to the Central American country in March despite a court order that barred the move due to security concerns.
At a June 6 press conference, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi accused the Maryland man of making over 100 trips to smuggle illegal immigrants across the nation.
"Thousands of illegal aliens were smuggled," Bondi told reporters. "The defendant traded the innocence of minor children for profit. There are even more disturbing facts that the grand jury uncovered."
The U.S. government again attested that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 criminal gang, an allegation his attorneys and family have heavily denied.
"We should treat any of these charges with a high degree of suspicion and he should get a fair hearing in court because he isn't getting one in the court of public opinion," said Chris Newman, Legal Director at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, which represents Abrego Garcia's family.
Newman said he was recently denied from meeting with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, alongside Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Maryland. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, met with Abrego Garcia briefly in El Salvador.
Who is Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
Abrego Garcia is a 29-year-old sheet metal worker who grew up in the El Salvador capital of San Salvador, in a neighborhood known as Los Nogales. He fled to the U.S. as a teenager for a new life, eventually moved to Maryland and became a father of three, as USA TODAY previously reported.
On March 12, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pulled him over while he driving with his 5-year-old son. Three days later, he was deported to El Salvador's CECOT mega prison for terrorists.
The deportation led to eventual standoff among President Donald Trump, the courts, some members of Congress and the Salvadoran government.
The Justice Department insists Abrego Garcia is a member of a dangerous criminal gang, while he insists he is not.
Why was deported to El Salvador?
The Trump administration deemed the deportation a mistake caused by an administrative "error."
However the White House, argued it had no authority to bring him back to the U.S. because he is in a foreign country.
Previously: Trump's team acknowledges 'administrative error' led to deportation to El Salvador
What are Kilmar Abrego Garcia's criminal charges?
Abrego Garcia has been indicted on two charges of unlawful transport of undocumented immigrants for financial gain in Tennessee in May, as reported by USA TODAY.
Though police have never charged Abrego Garcia with domestic violence, his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura filed a 2021 protection order alleging instances of violence in 2019, 2020 and 2021. In the filing, she alleged that Abrego Garcia "punched and scratched" her.
What is Kilmar Abrego Garcia's legal status?
Abrego Garcia was granted a legal status in 2019 in which an immigration judge ruled the Maryland resident could not be deported to El Salvador because he had a "well-grounded fear of future persecution," as previously reported by USA TODAY.
Due to the 2019 ruling, a U.S. district judge ordered the Trump administration to return him back to the U.S., with the U.S. Supreme Court later ordering the administration to "facilitate" his release.
What has Trump said about Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
President Trump has not yet commented on Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S.
However, the Trump administration has insisted that the El Salvador native is a member of the MS-13 gang, an accusation a federal judge has questioned due to the strength of the government's evidence. Abrego Garcia's attorneys have insisted he has not been a member of the gang.
Contributing: Erin Mansfield, Nick Penzenstadler, Will Carless, Bart Jansen and staff, USA TODAY
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