Illegal Immigrant with Domestic Violence, Gang Ties Returned to Maryland as Senator Condemns ICE Deportation Plans

A Maryland senator welcomed “the Maryland dad” back to his state Sunday after the illegal immigrant was released from criminal custody in Tennessee and returned to Maryland Friday.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., happily received Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to his state after what he called “a long and torturous nightmare.”

Abrego Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador who illegally entered the U.S. in March 2012, was deported earlier this year and imprisoned in El Salvador before being brought back to the U.S. to face charges including human smuggling.

Abrego Garcia is affiliated the MS-13 gang and has a history of domestic violence. His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, filed domestic violence allegations against him in May 2021.

Van Hollen’s Sunday meeting with Abrego Garcia was their first since April when Abrego Garcio was imprisoned in El Salvador, a friendly encounter mocked at the time by El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele. 

“During our conversation [Sunday], I shared with him that I and many others have been fighting for months to ensure that his constitutional due process rights were respected despite Trump’s efforts to deny them at every turn,” said Van Hollen in a statement. 

Van Hollen also said the Trump administration’s efforts to deport Abrego Garcio to Uganda was “a malicious abuse of power.” 

“As I told Kilmar and his wife Jennifer, we will stay in this fight for justice and due process because if his rights are denied, the rights of everyone else are put at risk,” Van Hollen said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes is ordering Abrego Garcia to have “access to attorneys” to “prepare for trial” if Immigration and Customs Enforcement takes him into custody. 

ICE then told Abrego Garcia’s lawyers he might be deported to Uganda in “no less than 72 hours.” Additionally, ICE said Abrego Garcia must report to any ICE agent at the Baltimore office Monday.

Uganda is the country of choice for Abrego Garcia’s deportation because the country reached a deal with the U.S. to take third-party deportations. 

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