Kilmar Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported to his native country, El Salvador, in March 2025 despite having legally lived in the United States for several years. His case has gripped the nation, and both Republicans and Democrats have criticized Donald Trump‘s administration over the mistaken deportation of the Maryland resident. Many Americans have also asked why Abrego Garcia was arrested and deported in the first place.
Who Is Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
Abrego Garcia is a 29-year-old El Salvadoran citizen and a legal Maryland resident. Up until March 2025, he was living in the state legally.
In 2011, Abrego Garcia immigrated to the U.S. as an undocumented resident when he was 16 years old. In 2019, he was arrested on suspicion of being associated with a gang — despite there being no evidence to back up the accusation. Abrego Garcia was never charged with a crime, and an immigration judge granted him “withholding of removal” status, which ensures that an individual can legally live and work in the U.S. if there is a safety threat against them in their native country.
Per CNN, the judge found that a gang in El Salvador was “targeting [Abrego Garcia] and threatening him with death because of his family’s pupusa business.”
In March 2025, amid the Trump administration’s strict immigration rulings, Abrego Garcia was arrested by U.S. officials and immediately deported on a plane headed for El Salvador.
A federal judge is giving the Trump administration two weeks to hand over information on what it has done to comply with the Supreme Court’s order to facilitate the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to an El Salvadoran prison. pic.twitter.com/WBlJ4LZylx
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 16, 2025
Is Kilmar Abrego Garcia Married?
Yes, Abrego Garcia is married to his wife, U.S. citizen Jennifer Vasquez Sura. Since her husband’s deportation, Sura has publicly advocated for his release.
“Today is 34 days after his disappearance, and I stand before you filled with a spirit that refuses to bring down,” she said in April 2025, per Rolling Stone. “I will not stop fighting until I see my husband alive. … Enough is enough. My family can’t be robbed of another day without seeing Kilmar. This administration has already taken so much from my children, from Kilmar’s mother, brother, sisters, and me.”
Abrego Garcia’s wife: “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.” pic.twitter.com/2CQEorVt0o
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 15, 2025
Does Kilmar Abrego Garcia Have Children?
Yes, Abrego Garcia is a father of three children, two of whom are from a previous relationship of Sura’s and live with disabilities and special needs; one child has epilepsy and another lives with autism, according to a declaration Sura filed over Abrego Garcia’s legal issues. The spouses share one biological child together.
While speaking in public one month after her husband’s deportation, Sura spoke directly to Abrego Garcia, saying, “Kilmar, if you can hear me, stay strong. God hasn’t forgotten about you. Our children are asking, ‘When will you come home?’ And I pray for the day I tell them the time and date that you will return.”
“As we continue through holy week, my heart aches for my husband,” she continued. “Who should have been here leading our Easter prayers — instead, I find myself pleading with the Trump administration and the Bukele administration to stop playing political games with the life of Kilmar.”
Why Was Kilmar Abrego Garcia Deported?
Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported based on what the White House called an “administrative error.” The Trump administration has accused him of being associated with the gang known as MS-13, but it has not disclosed any evidence to support these claims at the time of publication.
During a meeting with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele in mid-April 2025, a reporter asked Bukele if he would send Abrego Garcia back to the states. Bukele, in response, baselessly called Abrego Garcia a “terrorist” and stated he would not “smuggle” him out of El Salvador. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi later said that Abrego Garcia “is not coming back to our country.”
Abrego Garcia’s family and supporters are fighting for his return to the U.S. His attorneys have also disputed the Trump administration’s claims that he’s an MS-13 gang member.
Where Is Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
Abrego Garcia is currently in a mega-prison known as CECOT (Center for Terrorism Confinement) in El Salvador.
Will Kilmar Abrego Garcia Come Home?
Both the Trump administration and Bukele have said they do not plan to bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. However, the Supreme Court found Abrego Garcia’s deportation to be illegal. The court also rejected the Trump administration’s claim that it has no jurisdiction over El Salvador to secure Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S.
The Supreme Court also ordered the White House to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release from El Salvador.
Moreover, a federal judge named Paula Xinis ordered the Trump administration to relay evidence of their efforts to bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. The judge later revealed she was weighing contempt proceedings against the White House.
“I’ve gotten no real response, and no real legal justification for not answering,” Xinis said, per NBC News.
Additionally, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled that “probable cause exists” to hold the Trump administration in contempt for violating his orders to pause the use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 regarding Abrego Garcia’s deportation.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen from Maryland also traveled to El Salvador in hopes to meet with government officials regarding Abrego Garcia. In a video shared via X, Van Hollen revealed that he arrived in El Salvador.
“I just landed in San Salvador a little while ago, and I look forward to meeting with the team at the U.S. embassy to discuss the release of Mr. Abrego Garcia,” he tweeted. “I also hope to meet with Salvadoran officials and with Kilmar himself. He was illegally abducted and needs to come home.”
