Get The Facts: What to know about the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case
ACCOMPLISH WITH THIS TRIP? SOUTH? HEY, GUYS. GOOD MORNING. HE SAYS HE’S HOPING TO SHOW SOLIDARITY WITH HIS FAMILY. WE KNOW THAT ABREGO GARCIA WAS ARRESTED IN MARYLAND. HE’D BEEN LIVING HERE FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND DEPORTED TO HIS HOME COUNTRY OF EL SALVADOR. THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SAYS HE WAS A VIOLENT MEMBER OF THE MS. 13 GANG. AND HERE ILLEGALLY, THE ADMINISTRATION HAS NOW BEEN ORDERED TO FACILITATE HIS RETURN. NOW, PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS THAT IS UP TO THE PRESIDENT OF EL SALVADOR. BUT SENATOR VAN HOLLEN TELLS 11 NEWS THAT HE IS HOPING TO MEET WITH GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. AND HE LEFT JUST A LITTLE WHILE AGO FROM THE AIRPORT TO EL SALVADOR. THIS IS A PERSON WHO IS HERE LEGALLY. HE HAS NEVER BEEN EVEN CHARGED IN A CRIMINAL CASE. HE’S NEVER BEEN CONVICTED IN A CRIMINAL CASE. SO WHEN THE VICE PRESIDENT TWEETS OUT HE’S BEEN CONVICTED, THAT’S JUST NOT TRUE. I MEAN, YOU SAW LIE AFTER LIE AFTER LIE COMING OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE. THEY’RE GASLIGHTING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ON THIS CASE SO THEY CAN SAY WHAT THEY WANT. BUT IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AT LEAST SO FAR, WE RESPECT THE RULE OF LAW. ON EX VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE HAD THIS TO SAY IN PART WHEN THE MEDIA AND THE FAR LEFT OBSESS OVER AN MS. 13 GANG MEMBER AND DEMAND THAT HE BE RETURNED TO THE UNITED STATES FOR A THIRD DEPORTATION HEARING, WHAT THEY’RE REALLY SAYING IS THEY WANT THE VAST MAJORITY OF ILLEGAL ALIENS TO STAY HERE PERMANENTLY. WHILE HE IS IN EL SALVADOR. VAN HOLLEN SAYS HE’S ALSO HOPING TO VISIT THE PRISON WHERE ABREGO GARCIA IS BEING HELD TO CHECK ON HIS WELFARE. WE DO NOT KNOW HOW LONG HE PLANS ON STAYI
Get The Facts: What to know about the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case
Updated: 2:20 PM EDT Apr 16, 2025
The deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia has made headlines over the past couple of weeks after the Salvadoran national was mistakenly deported to El Salvador back in March. WBAL-TV has the facts about this case and of how this situation developed over the past couple of weeks including a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, a presidential visit, and a Maryland Senator heading to El Salvador on Wednesday.Video Above: Sen. Van Hollen talks to media before leaving for El SalvadorWho is Kilmar Abrego Garcia?Kilmar Abrego Garcia is 29-year-old man from El Salvador who has been is married to a U.S. citizen and a father of three children. He was deported on March 15, 2025 from the United States in what the Trump administration called an “administrative error” and is currently in prison in El Salvador.Why was he mistakenly deported? The Trump administration has accused Garcia of being a MS-13 gang member, a charge he denies. Garcia has never been convicted or charged with a crime and in 2019, a judge in Maryland granted him a “withholding of removal” status. That allowed him to legally work and live in the U.S. He was granted a work permit by the Department of Homeland Security and lived and worked in Maryland up until his deportation. Court Case TimelineMarch 24 – Garcia’s wife files lawsuit against the United States in Maryland District Court.April 4 – A Maryland judge ruled that Garcia’s detention without any documentation was illegal and that he would be irreparbably harmed if left in El Salvador and orderd his return to the U.S.April 5 – Department of Justice appeals judges ruling by Fourth DistrictApril 7 – Appeals court panel unanimously denied the Trump administration’s appealApril 7 – Trump adminstration appeals Fourth District ruling to the U.S. Supreme CourtApril 10 – SCOTUS rules 9-0 against the Trump administration stating: “The United States acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was subject to a withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador, and that the removal to El Salvador was therefore illegal.”What did the President of El Salvador say about this case? On April 14, the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, visited the White House and said it would be absurd if he would return Garcia to the U.S. saying:”Are you suggesting I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? How can I return him to the United States, like I smuggle him into the United States? Of course, I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous.”What is next?Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador on April 16 in order to check on the well-being of Garcia as well as meet with officials from the government about his release.
BALTIMORE —The deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia has made headlines over the past couple of weeks after the Salvadoran national was mistakenly deported to El Salvador back in March.
WBAL-TV has the facts about this case and of how this situation developed over the past couple of weeks including a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, a presidential visit, and a Maryland Senator heading to El Salvador on Wednesday.
Video Above: Sen. Van Hollen talks to media before leaving for El Salvador
Who is Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is 29-year-old man from El Salvador who has been is married to a U.S. citizen and a father of three children. He was deported on March 15, 2025 from the United States in what the Trump administration called an “administrative error” and is currently in prison in El Salvador.
Why was he mistakenly deported?
The Trump administration has accused Garcia of being a MS-13 gang member, a charge he denies. Garcia has never been convicted or charged with a crime and in 2019, a judge in Maryland granted him a “withholding of removal” status. That allowed him to legally work and live in the U.S. He was granted a work permit by the Department of Homeland Security and lived and worked in Maryland up until his deportation.
Court Case Timeline
- March 24 – Garcia’s wife files lawsuit against the United States in Maryland District Court.
- April 4 – A Maryland judge ruled that Garcia’s detention without any documentation was illegal and that he would be irreparbably harmed if left in El Salvador and orderd his return to the U.S.
- April 5 – Department of Justice appeals judges ruling by Fourth District
- April 7 – Appeals court panel unanimously denied the Trump administration’s appeal
- April 7 – Trump adminstration appeals Fourth District ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court
- April 10 – SCOTUS rules 9-0 against the Trump administration stating: “The United States acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was subject to a withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador, and that the removal to El Salvador was therefore illegal.”
On April 14, the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, visited the White House and said it would be absurd if he would return Garcia to the U.S. saying:
“Are you suggesting I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? How can I return him to the United States, like I smuggle him into the United States? Of course, I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous.”
What is next?
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador on April 16 in order to check on the well-being of Garcia as well as meet with officials from the government about his release.
