Deported Immigrant Returns to U.S. After Months in Detention in El Salvador

Kilmar Ábrego García, a resident of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, has returned to the United States. He faces charges related to alleged human trafficking, according to information from the EFE agency.

During a press conference on Friday, Attorney General Pam Bondi asserted that Ábrego García had conducted over 100 trips to transport illegal immigrants across the U.S. She accused him of being a member of the Salvadoran gang MS-13. "He trafficked thousands of illegal immigrants," Bondi declared. She further alleged that Ábrego García exploited the innocence of minors for personal gain and stated that he would be convicted and sent back to El Salvador for imprisonment.

The attorney general linked him to serious crimes such as murder and abuse of women, despite charges being limited to smuggling. Bondi also suggested, without evidence, that Ábrego García's life as a contractor, husband, and father in Maryland was a facade for nine years of criminal activity.

Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, criticized both the media and Democrats for allegedly "glorifying" García. On social media, she claimed the government possesses "overwhelming evidence" against him for human trafficking and conspiracy. "Justice awaits this Salvadoran," Noem declared.

From the onset, Trump administration officials have portrayed Ábrego García, who lived in the U.S. illegally without a criminal record for years, as a member of MS-13. Court documents requesting his detention allege that the Salvadoran was part of a human trafficking conspiracy and played a "significant role" in smuggling immigrants, including unaccompanied minors. If convicted, he could face a maximum of 10 years in prison for each person he transported, with a sentence potentially extending "far beyond the remainder of the defendant's life."

The Kilmar Ábrego García Case

Arriving in the U.S. in 2011 to escape gang violence, Kilmar Ábrego García was granted a deportation suspension in 2019, as he was deemed a likely target of violence if returned to his home country. Married to a U.S. citizen and father to a five-year-old child with a disability, Ábrego García has no criminal record and worked as an apprentice at a metalworking company in Maryland.

On March 12, ICE agents detained him, citing a change in his immigration status. Within days, he was mistakenly placed on a deportation flight to El Salvador without acknowledging his legal protection. He ended up in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), the prison symbolizing President Bukele's "iron fist" policy.

U.S. authorities acknowledged the deportation was an "oversight" due to an "administrative error." Nevertheless, government attorneys argued that courts lacked the jurisdiction to order his return while he was in Salvadoran custody. However, President Nayib Bukele stated he would not oppose sending him back to the U.S. to face charges.