Fear And Fury After Wrongful Deportation Of Maryland Man To El Salvador’s Mega-Prison

The shocking mistaken deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident with legal status, to El Salvador — where he now languishes inside a notorious mega-prison — has reignited debates over immigration enforcement, judicial power, and human rights under the Trump administration. The case spotlights not only Garcia’s personal tragedy, but a chilling climate of aggressive deportations that critics liken to a breakdown of due process protections in the United States.

According to family and lawyers, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a protected-status immigrant since fleeing El Salvador’s political violence in 2011, was swept up by ICE in Texas last month, detained abruptly after being told his immigration status had changed. Despite no criminal convictions and married to a U.S. citizen with a 5-year-old autistic child, he was mistakenly deported alongside over 200 Venezuelans to El Salvador on March 15. Most shockingly, he was transferred directly into CECOT — a sprawling high-security prison famed worldwide for its brutal crackdown on gang members and political prisoners alike.

While the Biden-appointed District Judge Paula Xinis called for an immediate return, describing the deportation as “wholly lawless,” the Trump administration doubled down, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisting Garcia was a “brutal” MS-13 gang member unwelcome back in the U.S. His wife Jennifer Vasquez vehemently denies this: “He’s never been convicted for anything. Everything they are saying is wrong. He’s a loving father and amazing husband.” Heartbreakingly, their nonverbal autistic son keeps searching for his absent father: “He looks for him, his work shirts, just to smell him.”

The administration acknowledged deporting Garcia “in error,” yet, according to a scathing guest essay by renowned legal scholars Erwin Chemerinsky and Laurence Tribe, is simultaneously arguing at the Supreme Court that federal courts lack authority to reverse the wrongful removal. “None are more frightening,” they warn in The New York Times, “than dumping of people who haven’t had their day in court into a notorious maximum-security prison — and then claiming no federal court can do anything.” They urge the justices to reject this dangerous assertion of unchecked deportation power that defies centuries-old protections like habeas corpus.

This controversy emerges amid broader concerns that the administration is accelerating secret detentions and deportations targeting immigrants, activists, and even legal residents, especially those publicly opposing Israel’s war in Gaza. Recent reports link the rapid removal of multiple students and scholars — including Palestinian Americans and a Turkish Fulbright student — allegedly as punishment for anti-genocide activism, sparking fears of a chilling infringement on dissent and academic freedom.

Critics argue that wrongful deportations like Garcia’s, compounded by secret transfers to harsh foreign prisons without legal recourse, paints a stark portrait of a system crossing into authoritarian excess. Meanwhile, his family remains in painful limbo. Vasquez pleads simply: “When is he coming home? Is he okay?” Questions reverberate beyond one household — about America’s immigration morals, adherence to due process, and the limits of executive power.

What does Garcia’s story signal about the future of justice and civil rights in the U.S? Will the courts stand up against unchecked expulsions and secret detentions? We invite you to share your thoughts and perspectives below.

• Cecot
• Kilmar Abrego-Garcia
• Maryland

Related issues news

Who is Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia?

Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a CASA member, father, and union worker, was torn from his Maryland home and family by ICE – despite a standing court order explicitly protecting him from removal to El Salvador. Kilmar is a husband. A father of three US citizen children.

Why was Kilmer Abrego Garcia deported?

Abrego Garcia was deported March 15 in what the Trump administration described as an “administrative error.“ U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland issued the return order Friday, calling Abrego Garcia's deportation unlawful.

Was Kilmer Abrego Garcia a US citizen?

Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia (Spanish: Kilmar Armando Ábrego García) is a Salvadoran national who resided in Maryland, United States, and was deported to the maximum security prison Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador in March 2025.

How did a Chicago Bulls hat lead to a Maryland dad being mistakenly shipped to an El Salvador prison?

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was accused by police of being an MS-13 gang member in part for his clothing. Police believed Kilmar Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang for two reasons: He was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie, and an unnamed informant had told them so.