A man mistakenly deported to an El Salvadorian prison was not an “upstanding Maryland” resident but a wife abuser, a US government department has claimed.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported by Donald Trump’s administration in error, had a history of violence and was handed a restraining order against his wife Jennifer Vasquez in 2021, the Department of Homeland Security said on Wednesday.

Mrs Vasquez, who is campaigning for Mr Garcia’s return and has described him as an “excellent father”, previously told law enforcement he punched, scratched, and ripped off her shirt, according to court documents published on Tuesday.

Per the court documents, Mr Abrego Garcia, who entered the US illegally 14-years ago, was ordered to vacate the family home in Maryland and not to contact Mrs Vasquez as part of the temporary protective order.

The 29-year-old remains imprisoned in a notorious jail in his native country despite a US federal judge’s order backed by the Supreme Court for his return to the United States.

He was protected by a 2019 court order determining that he could not be deported to El Salvador, but he was sent there around a month ago.