Trump Administration Acknowledges Mistake in Deporting Salvadoran Citizen to Supermax Prison
Washington, April 1 (CBS News): The Trump administration acknowledged in court on Monday that due to an "administrative error" and "negligence," Salvadoran citizen Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported from the United States and sent to a supermax prison in El Salvador, despite having a legal order preventing his deportation.
Robert Serna, the Director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Field Office, confirmed that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was sent to El Salvador on March 15 as part of a deportation flight, which was part of a series of flights sending suspected gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador. However, an immigration judge had granted him protection from deportation.
These deportation flights were at the center of a legal battle against the Trump administration, with Judge James Boasberg ordering the suspension of gang member deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
The March 15 deportation flight included 238 Venezuelans and 23 Salvadorans, whom Trump administration officials described as members of the Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gangs. Many Venezuelan lawyers and relatives denied these claims.
Abrego Garcia, who had received legal protection known as "removal holding" in 2019, came to the United States from El Salvador in 2011 at the age of 16. The immigration judge ruled that he could face torture by gangs if deported to El Salvador.
While the Trump administration has acknowledged the deportation as a mistake, they have rejected his appeal to return to the U.S. The government argues that Abrego Garcia is dangerous to the community and claims he is a member of the MS-13 gang.
The Department of Justice further argued that the federal court has no jurisdiction to return Abrego Garcia because he is now in the custody of the Salvadoran government and is no longer in U.S. custody.
Abrego Garcia had been living in Maryland with his wife and five-year-old disabled son, both U.S. citizens. His lawyers stated that he has no criminal record, which the government did not dispute.
In 2019, Abrego Garcia was arrested while applying for a job at a Home Depot in Maryland. His lawyers stated that he was questioned about being a gang member but denied the allegations. Later, the police called ICE.
His lawyers further argued that the only evidence the government had was that he wore a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie, and a confidential informant had claimed he was an active MS-13 member, even though Abrego Garcia’s lawyers maintained that he had never lived in Long Island, where the gang has a branch.
On Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance responded to media reports on the deportation, posting, "It is clear that the entire American media today is running a campaign to make it seem like an innocent 'father of three' has been detained in a gulag," and he further stated, "Abrego Garcia is an illegal immigrant who has no right to be in our country."
