The family and friends of a man deported to the world’s worst prison claim he had no involvement with gangs during his life.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador
Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March due to a clerical error by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Officials initially admitted the mistake. They called it an “administrative error” that wrongly placed him on a deportation flight manifest.
Following his removal, Abrego Garcia was imprisoned in a notorious Salvadoran mega-prison. This occurred despite unclear gang ties and ongoing legal proceedings.
The U.S. Government describes Abrego Garcia as a violent gang member
Federal officials allege that Abrego Garcia is affiliated with MS-13. This is a group the U.S. has labeled a terrorist organization since 2021.
Additionally, ducuments also showed his wife reported past abuse.
Authorities cite this to support claims that he is violent and dangerous to society.
Family and Friends paint a different picture of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s past
Previously Family members describe Abrego Garcia as a hardworking man. He believed he had fled gang violence to seek safety in America.
His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, emotionally pleaded for his return during a protest at Lafayette Square.
“I will not stop fighting until I see my husband alive. Kilmar, if you can hear me, stay strong. God hasn’t forgotten about you. Our children are asking when you will come home … they miss their dad so much.” She said,
Supporters claim he had no gang ties and was focused on building a stable life for his family in Maryland.
Garcia’s early life in El Salvador
Born in 1995, Garcia was raised in Los Nogales, a middle-class Salvadoran neighborhood, and worked in his family’s food business.
According to a 2019 court order, he worked in the family business.
The order was issued by the immigration judge handling his case. He worked alongside his father, brother, and two sisters. His duties included buying ingredients for pupusas and managing delivery routes about four days a week.
Friend Francisco Sibrian told CNN Garcia enjoyed soccer, bike rides, and water balloon fights, acting as the neighborhood’s go-to organizer.
“I knew him since we were kids,” Sibrian wrote. “I don’t know the exact age, but I stopped seeing him around 15, 16 years old when he left the country.”
“As far as I knew him here, he was never involved with gangs,” he added.
He also recalled that how Garcia left the country around age 16 to escape local threats.
El Salvador’s Gang crisis has evolved since Garcia’s departure in 2011.
When Garcia left in 2011, El Salvador was overwhelmed by gang violence, with daily extortion and constant threats from MS-13.
“If you didn’t pay, they threatened to kill,” locals told CNN, describing the oppressive environment in many neighborhoods, including Los Nogales.
A truce between major gangs arrived in 2012, but violence returned, followed by President Nayib Bukele’s mass incarceration crackdown in 2022.
Garcia’s return in 2025 placed him in a vastly different, heavily militarized environment, where suspected gang members face indefinite detention.
U.S. courts are reviewing legal and constitutional issues in Garcia’s case
Garcia’s case has escalated to the Supreme Court, where justices are weighing questions about due process and immigration enforcement errors.
A federal appeals court warned that legal rights apply regardless of guilt or affiliation, stating, “He is still entitled to due process.”
Tensions between Maryland’s federal judges and the Department of Justice have risen. The administration is now defending its evolving stance.
Legal experts believe the outcome could reshape how the government handles deportations tied to terrorism designations and clerical mistakes.