Topline
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man whom the Trump administration mistakenly deported to El Salvador—but has insisted he could not return to the U.S.—is on his way back, ABC News reported Friday, where the immigrant is expected to face criminal charges, as the Trump administration has repeatedly claimed without evidence that he belonged to gang MS-13.
A member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus holds a picture of Kilmar Abrego Garcia during a news ... More
Abrego Garcia is on his way back to the U.S., ABC News reported at 3 p.m. EDT Friday citing anonymous sources, after a federal grand jury indicted him on criminal charges.
He has been indicted based on allegations that he participated in a years-long scheme to transport undocumented migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas to interior parts of the U.S., ABC reports, which allegedly included transporting members of MS-13.
His return comes after the Trump administration had repeatedly insisted it could not bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S.—despite an order from the Supreme Court to “facilitate” his return—claiming the immigrant was out of the government’s jurisdiction now that he was in El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador in March despite a 2019 court ruling prohibiting the government from deporting him there due to fears of persecution, and the Trump administration admitted in court filings that the man’s deportation was an “administrative error.”
The government has dug its heels in on Abrego Garcia’s deportation despite its mistaken nature and the national outcry that erupted over the Trump administration’s failure to bring him back, as Trump officials have painted the immigrant as a “criminal” and gang member whose deportation was warranted.
Attorney General Pam Bondi is scheduled to hold a press conference Friday afternoon, though it remains unclear whether it will focus on Abrego Garcia and the reported charges against him.
Abrego Garcia is a father of three who lived with his wife and children in Maryland before being deported in March. He first entered the U.S. illegally at age 16 in 2012, and had resided in the country since, going on to marry a U.S. citizen. In 2019, Abrego Garcia was arrested in the parking lot of a Home Depot on allegations that he and other people were “loitering,” and law enforcement accused him of being a member of MS-13, citing the fact he was wearing Chicago Bulls clothing. Abrego Garcia and his family have denied that he has any associations with the gang, and experts cited by the BBC have cast doubt on the Trump administration’s evidence tying him to MS-13. He was not charged at the time with any crimes. A judge granted Abrego Garcia “withholding of removal” in 2019, which gave him temporary protections from deportation and work authorization in the U.S., and prohibited the government from deporting Abrego Garcia to El Salvador specifically, given the possibility he could face gang violence if he returned. Abrego Garcia was then pulled over by immigration enforcement officials on March 12 and subsequently detained and sent to El Salvador, prompting a legal battle over his removal that had not yet been resolved as of his reported return to the U.S.
This story is breaking and will be updated.