A Salvadoran national with alleged ties to the violent MS-13 gang is at the center of a growing political battle after being deported to El Salvador.
Democrats are pushing for the return of 29-year-old Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States, despite newly surfaced court records and federal documents that detail a long history of alleged violence and criminal conduct.
Abrego Garcia, who was living illegally in Maryland, was deported last month to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum-security prison housing violent gang members.
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His deportation, carried out under the Trump administration, has drawn sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who traveled to El Salvador this week in an attempt to visit him and advocate for his return.
THE FACTS:
– Abrego Garcia was illegally in the U.S. and had a lawful deportation order.
– Garicia was arrested and found with rolls of cash and drugs.
– Garcia was arrested with two other members of MS-13.
– Two Judges found that Garcia was a member of MS-13.
– Garcia’s wife… pic.twitter.com/xE08GBdnAO— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) April 16, 2025
Court records obtained by Fox News show that Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez, filed domestic violence allegations against him in Prince George’s County District Court in 2021.
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In a handwritten statement, Vasquez wrote that she feared her husband, documenting repeated incidents of physical abuse.
“At this point, I am afraid to be close to him,” she wrote, noting that she had “multiple photos/videos of how violent he can be and all the bruises he [has] left me.”
According to the filing, Abrego Garcia punched her in the eye, causing it to bleed, and later tore off her clothing during another altercation.
Vasquez also recalled separate incidents in 2020, stating, “In November 2020, he hit me with his work boot. In August 2020, he hit me in the eye leaving a purple eye.”
NEW: @FoxNews has obtained the written domestic violence allegations from Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s wife in 2021, in which she alleges he is a repeat wife beater & writes “At this point, I am afraid to be close to him. I have multiple photos/videos of how violent he can be and all… pic.twitter.com/s7yCji9jjq
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 16, 2025
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released additional records this week supporting Abrego Garcia’s alleged ties to MS-13.
A 2019 interview sheet from the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Gang Unit indicated that Abrego Garcia was found loitering in a Home Depot parking lot alongside known MS-13 members and was in possession of illicit drugs.
DHS said a reliable informant identified him as a member of the “Westerns” clique of MS-13, using the alias “Chele” and holding the rank of “Chequeo.”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin added that Abrego Garcia was discovered with “rolls of cash and drugs” and was “wearing what is effectively MS-13’s uniform.”
She told Fox News, “Abrego Garcia is exactly where he belongs, home in El Salvador.”
Despite this evidence, Democrats have escalated calls for his return. The Supreme Court recently upheld a lower court’s order requiring the U.S. government to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and ensure his immigration proceedings continue as if he had never been deported.
The Trump administration has agreed to remove administrative obstacles, but Attorney General Pam Bondi stated, “Returning him is up to El Salvador. If they want to return him. That’s not up to us.”
Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) called the deportation a “government-funded kidnapping rampage,” claiming Abrego Garcia is “rotting away in a foreign prison.”
However, DHS pushed back strongly, writing on X, “Kilmar Abrego Garcia is not a ‘Maryland Man’—he is an MS-13 gang member involved in human trafficking who entered the United States illegally.”
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is not a “Maryland Man”—he is an MS-13 gang member involved in human trafficking who entered the United States illegally. His deportation to El Salvador was always going to be the end result.@TriciaOhio pic.twitter.com/bd3s8wHM2T
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) April 15, 2025
A federal immigration court in Baltimore concluded that Abrego Garcia was ineligible for release, noting that he “failed to meet his burden of demonstrating that his release from custody would not pose a danger to others.”
The court cited credible intelligence confirming his gang membership and his illegal entry into the country in 2012 near McAllen, Texas.
DHS sharply criticized Sen. Van Hollen’s efforts to secure Abrego Garcia’s return, stating he “has done more to bring a MS-13 gang member, human trafficker and illegal alien back to Maryland than he has to help keep his American constituents safe.”
Senator Van Hollen has done more to bring a MS-13 gang member, human trafficker and illegal alien back to Maryland than he has to help keep his American constituents safe or advocate for the victims of these vicious gangs like MS-13. ⁰⁰While Senator Van Hollen and the… https://t.co/nZacQJAFzW
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) April 16, 2025
The backlash has also reached the family of crime victims.
The mother of Rachel Morrin, a Maryland mother who was raped and murdered by another Salvadoran illegal immigrant in 2023, expressed outrage at Van Hollen’s advocacy.
“To have a senator from Maryland who didn’t even acknowledge my daughter… now use my taxpayer money to fly to El Salvador to bring back someone that’s not even an American citizen… I don’t understand this,” she said.
MUST WATCH: “To have a senator from Maryland who didn’t even acknowledge, or barely acknowledge my daughter, and the brutal death that she endured… fly to El Salvador to bring back someone that’s not even an American citizen … I don’t understand this.” – Angel Mom Patty Morin pic.twitter.com/0m7hCHgrtf
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 16, 2025
DHS concluded its public statement by reiterating its position: “We hear far too much about the gang members and criminals’ sob stories and not enough about their victims.”
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