Kilmar Abrego Garcia accidently deported to El Salvador?

[AgnosticBoy]

Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was taken into ICE custody and deported to El Salvador a week or so ago. The only problem is that Mr. Garcia was under a court ordered temporary protected status which would mean he was allowed to be in the US.

Last week, the Supreme Court said that Trump needs to bring back Mr. Garcia from El Salvador. Well now latest news is that the El Salvador's president won't return him.

His a brief details on Garcia reported by CNN:

Abrego Garcia entered the country illegally sometime around 2011, but an immigration judge in 2019, after reviewing evidence, withheld his removal. That meant that Abrego Garcia could not be deported to El Salvador. A gang in his native country, the immigration judge found, had been “targeting him and threatening him with death because of his family’s pupusa business.”

Today, El Salvador's president was at the White House and was asked if he could release Garcia to the United States.... watch that at 3:30 to 4:30 mark...

(really the first 5 or 6 minutes was good sparring between CNN and Trump's cabinet)...


What are your thoughts on this? I mean I accept one of Trump's points that a US judge ruling to return Garcia isn't practical as such an order has no binding in another country, esp. when the government of that country disagrees.


Facts about Garcia's case in timeline format:

https://www.axios.com/2025/04/14/timeline-kilmar-abrego-garcia-deported-case

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Here's one take that is critical of Trump on this issue:

Another critical take of Trump Administration on this issue:

No need to post takes in favor of Trump's handling in this situation because he and his advisors spoke a lot about their position during the press conference that I linked to in post #1 (mainly the first 6 minutes).

 

[AgnosticBoy]

What are your thoughts on this?

My thoughts on Garcia being accidentally deported is that it's obviously wrong from a procedural standpoint. I emphasize the procedural point only because I see a lack of due process and following court orders as the only wrong here. Otherwise, I don't have much sympathy for Mr. Garcia if he was associated with a gang. If he was then he should've been deported whenever his protection status expires. But the question remains if he's really associated with a gang.

Did my own research to see what the evidence is for Garcia's gang affiliation or any other crime. Here's my take.

Mr. Garcia, his lawyer, and his wife deny that Garcia is part of any gang. Mr. Garcia does not have any criminal record in the US. CNN reports that a federal judge was skeptical of the allegations of Garcia's gang affiliation. Here are some of my sources for these claims:
From Newsweek...

But Abrego Garcia, his wife, and attorneys all deny he has ties to the gang, with a March 24 filing from the lawyers stating that "the U.S. government has never produced an iota of evidence to support this unfounded accusation."

From CNN:

His attorneys, however, dispute the claim and at least one federal judge has voiced skepticism toward it.

If you read these sources and watch some of the coverage on the case, you'd think there was no evidence. But then yesterday, I heard Trump's cabinet mention evidence so I balance the above with what I found to support their side...

In 2019, Abrego Garcia went to a Home Depot looking for work when he was arrested by county police, according to court filings. Detectives asked if he was a gang member. After explaining he wasn’t, he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Abrego Garcia later told an immigration judge that he would seek asylum and asked to be released. Vasquez Sura was five months into a high-risk pregnancy.

ICE, however, alleged that he was a certified gang member based on information that came from a confidential informant used by county police, records state.

The information was enough for an immigration judge in 2019 to keep Abrego Garcia in jail as his immigration case continued, court records state. The judge said the informant was proven and reliable and had verified his gang membership and rank.

In October 2019, an immigration judge denied Abrego Garcia’s asylum request but granted him protection from being deported back to El Salvador because of a “well-founded fear” of gang persecution, according to his case. He was released and ICE did not appeal.

- AP

This shows that there is some evidence, although not the strong (I was expecting to find evidence of gang related activity and not just affiliation), that Mr. Garcia was affiliated with a gang. So at least right now, I can't really say if he in fact was or wasn't in a gang, but we at least know that has no criminal record in the US. Another source says that Mr. Garcia was involved in human trafficking but I couldn't find any evidence on that beyond what a Department of Homeland Security official said:

“The individual in question is a member of the brutal MS-13 gang — we have intelligence reports that he is involved in human trafficking,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CNN. “

I welcome everyone else to contribute if you find any additional information on this topic.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

In my last post, I wasn't convinced either way that Abrego Garcia was affiliated in any way with a gang, but I now believe that he likely was based on additional details from a police report reported by the BBC.

In a document titled the "Gang Field Interview Sheet", the local police detailed their observations.

They said Mr Abrego Garcia was wearing a "Chicago Bulls hat and a hoodie with rolls of money covering the eyes, ears and mouth of the presidents on the separate denominations".

Officers claimed the clothing was "indicative of the Hispanic gang culture" and that "wearing the Chicago Bulls hat represents thay (sic) they are a member in good standing with the MS-13".

Steven Dudley, a journalist and author who has spent years studying the MS-13 gang, said that it is true that "at some point, the Chicago Bulls logo with the horns became a stand-in of sorts for the MS-13's devil horns symbol".

But wearing the logo of the hugely popular basketball team, he added, is of course not exclusive to the gang.

"Any assertions about gang affiliation would need to be corroborated with testimony, criminal history, and other corroborating evidence," Mr Dudley said.

According to the field interview sheet and other court documents, officers said they were also advised by a "proven and reliable source" that Mr Abrego Garcia was an active member of MS-13's "westerns clique", with the rank of "chequeo".

Based on these details, I still maintain that the Trump's administration wrong here is that proper procedure and due process wasn't followed. I also disagree with some of the mainstream media, and even social media's, portrayal of Abrego Garcia as a model citizen that deserves to stay in the country. If I were Trump, I would try to bring him back to the US if possible, have him go to the process, and deport him again if the court approves. That's the best way to keep everyone satisfied.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Seeing how both sides have framed this issue, I lean more towards the Republican side. While I don't believe the Trump admin gave Abrego Garcia any due process, but I also don't believe that he is a good guy just because he has no "criminal" background. Kinda lost respect for the Left when they initially tried to paint this Garcia as a good Maryland-resident family man.

I believe Garcia's gang affiliations (he was caught hanging out with gang members and with a wad of cash on him) and his past domestic abuse allegations justifies him being deported. Basically, he doesn't pass the smell test of being a good guy and was probably on his way to eventually doing crime or getting caught doing it, imo. Not the type of guy I'd give amnesty +seeing he already violated immigration law) nor asylum.