In a case that has triggered national controversy, the Trump administration admitted in court that it deported Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia — a Maryland father — to El Salvador despite a standing immigration judge’s order protecting him from removal. Now imprisoned in El Salvador’s infamous CECOT mega-prison, Abrego Garcia’s case raises sharp questions about citizenship, misidentification, and the use of questionable gang allegations in immigration enforcement.
Was Abrego Garcia a US Citizen?
No. Abrego Garcia was a Salvadoran national, not a citizen of the United States. He entered the US around 2011 after fleeing gang violence as a teenager and lived in Maryland with his wife and young US-born son. Although married to an American and living legally in the country, he never became a naturalized citizen.
His legal presence in the US was based on a protection known as “withholding of removal,” which was granted by an immigration judge in 2019. That status is awarded when a judge determines that deporting someone would expose them to persecution or torture in their home country. In Abrego Garcia’s case, the judge ruled he faced credible threats of violence if returned to El Salvador — particularly from the very gangs he was accused of belonging to.
Despite this court-ordered protection, Abrego Garcia was arrested by ICE in March 2025 and added to a deportation flight to El Salvador. The government now concedes that his removal was an administrative mistake — he was not supposed to be on the flight — but insists it cannot retrieve him because he is now in Salvadoran custody.
Was He a Member of MS-13?
The central justification ICE offered for Abrego Garcia’s 2025 arrest and removal was that he was a “ranking member” of the MS-13 gang. But that accusation, repeated by top officials, is not backed by a criminal conviction, hard evidence, or corroborating police reports.
The only basis for the claim appears to be a single informant who told federal authorities in 2019 that Abrego Garcia was affiliated with MS-13.
Immigration judges treated the tip seriously enough to deny him bond at the time, citing precautionary concerns. However, this does not equate to a finding of guilt. Abrego was never charged with a crime, never convicted, and had no criminal record in the US
Further complicating the government’s case, the informant alleged that Abrego belonged to a specific MS-13 clique that did not even operate in Maryland. Local police reportedly could not verify the information, and the officer who first documented the claim was later suspended. No independent evidence of gang membership was ever produced.
Meanwhile, Abrego Garcia consistently denied the allegations and continued living peacefully in Maryland for years. He complied with immigration check-ins, worked full-time, and raised his child without incident. The immigration court that granted him protection found that he was at risk from gang violence — not part of it — further undermining the government’s narrative.
The Final Answer
Kilmar Abrego Garcia was not a US citizen, but he had been legally protected from deportation due to the real dangers he faced in El Salvador. The US government’s claim that he was a high-ranking MS-13 member rests on a single, unverified informant tip and was never proven in court or supported by independent investigation.
His mistaken deportation has now trapped him in one of the world’s most brutal prisons — not because of what he did, but because of a bureaucratic error and a dubious label. The case reflects the high stakes of immigration enforcement in an era where rumor and error can override legal protections — and cost lives.