The wife of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, will join lawmakers in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to demand his return to the United States. Jennifer Vasquez Sura, Garcia's wife, along with advocates, are seeking answers and accountability from the Trump administration over the erroneous deportation of Abrego Garcia. U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, from Maryland, was one of 31 senators who signed off on
a five-page letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE), calling for Abrego Garcia to be released from a notorious supermax CECOT prison. Abrego Garcia was deported after
ICE agents apprehended him while he was leaving work in Baltimore. "Mr. Abrego Garcia is a father who was living legally, under protected status, in Maryland with his family until he was deported without due process by the Trump Administration last month to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador," Van Hollen said. Vasquez Sura recently issued a statement through the advocacy group CASA, where she addressed President Trump directly. "I ask again that both President Trump and [Salvadoran] President Bukele stop attempting any further delays. They need to follow the court's order NOW. My children are waiting to be reunited with their father tonight," she said.
Abrego Garcia's return to U.S. paused
On Friday, April 4, a federal judge in Maryland ordered Abrego Garcia to be returned to the United States by 11:59 p.m. Monday, April 7. Judge Paula Xinis ruled Sunday that the mistaken deportation was a "grievous error." However, the Supreme Court
temporarily paused the lower court's order , keeping Abrego Garcia in El Salvador to give the court more time to consider the matter.
Chief Justice John Roberts ordered all sides to submit further arguments by 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 8.
According to CBS News , the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to block that district court order, claiming that it "sets the United States up for failure" because it cannot compel El Salvador to "follow a federal judge's bidding."
Abrego Garcia's gang activity debate
Abrego Garcia was arrested by ICE agents in March after leaving his sheet metal apprenticeship in Baltimore. He was first taken to Baltimore City, then to Louisiana and Texas, before the Trump administration flew him to the violent CECOT prison in El Salvador. Although Albrego Garcia has no criminal record in the U.S. or El Salvador,
Trump administration officials claim he is an MS-13 gang member and a "danger to the community." Abrego Garcia's attorneys have argued in court filings that the sole evidence linking him to alleged gang activity comes from a confidential informant who claimed he was an active MS-13 member, along with the fact that he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and sweatshirt at the time of his arrest.
Senators question ICE's enforcement practices
The senators also requested that the Department of Homeland Security and ICE respond to several questions regarding the legal process surrounding immigration enforcement and Abrego Garcia's case. According to the letter, the standard process in deportation cases involving someone with protected status, such as Abrego Garcia, is to reopen the case, present evidence as to why the protected status should end, and finally allow an immigration judge to make a ruling. The senators asked why the Department of Homeland Security, along with ICE, is deviating from what they called "well-established procedures and practices for returning people to the U.S. who were erroneously deported". Additionally, the senators requested that ICE provide "any evidence" to substantiate the claim that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13. The letter also urged the administration to identify any other cases where immigrants with protected status were deported "without due process", to take corrective action in those instances, and to commit to a full review of all deportation cases to ensure no similar errors have occurred. They also pressed for a clear plan to protect due process rights for immigrants with legal protections moving forward. The senators asked the department to respond to their questions by April 22.
