Kilmar Ábrego García walked out of an immigration detention centre in Pennsylvania on Thursday, only hours after a federal judge in Maryland ordered his
“immediate” release.
The ruling marked a major turning point in a case that began months ago, when
Ábrego García was “mistakenly” deported to El Salvador and sent to a high-security prison meant for gang members and terrorists.
US District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had “no lawful authority” to keep holding him, sharply criticising the government’s handling of the case.
Her decision follows weeks of tense exchanges between the court and the Justice Department over how the wrongful deportation was allowed to happen.
But the Department of Homeland Security has pushed back. It condemned the ruling, calling it “naked judicial activism” and announced plans to appeal.
So who is Kilmar Ábrego García? And how did a man who is a lawful US resident, married to an American citizen, end up being deported in the first place? How did his case catch global attention? Here’s what we know.
Who is Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
Kilmar Armando Ábrego García, 29, first arrived in the United States in 2011 after fleeing severe gang violence in El Salvador. According to his attorney, who spoke to The Atlantic, Ábrego had been repeatedly targeted by gangs back home — stalked, assaulted, and threatened with kidnapping or death as part of their extortion tactics.
He crossed into the US without inspection and eventually settled in Maryland, where he built a life. Working as a sheet metal apprentice, he supported his wife, Jennifer Stefania Vasquez Sura — a US citizen — their five-year-old autistic son, and her two children from a previous relationship.
But in 2019, during Donald Trump’s first term, the government accused him of being an MS-13 member. MS-13, a Salvadoran gang, had been labelled a terrorist organisation by the State Department that same year.
A CNN report, citing court documents, said police flagged him as a gang member partly because he wore a “Chicago Bulls hat and a hoodie” and because “a confidential informant advised that he was an active member of MS-13 with the Westerns clique.”
Throughout his immigration proceedings, Ábrego’s lawyer argued he had no gang ties, no criminal record, and no connection to any criminal activity.
An immigration judge ultimately granted him withholding of removal, ruling that sending him back to El Salvador would put his life at risk. This meant he was still technically removable — but not to El Salvador specifically. The government never appealed this decision.
How an ‘administrative error’ sent him to a terror prison in El Salvador
Everything changed on 12 March. After finishing a shift at a construction site, Ábrego was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The agency told him there had been a “change” in his immigration status.
Just days later, on Saturday, he was deported to El Salvador — even though a US court had barred his removal to that country.
By Monday, ICE admitted in a Maryland federal court filing that he had been wrongfully deported and placed inside the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, a maximum-security prison known for its brutal conditions.
Despite DHS admitting the mistake, the administration defended its actions. Vice President JD Vance posted on X calling Ábrego “a convicted MS-13 gang member with no legal right to be here.”
The White House also argued that tattoos on his hands — a marijuana leaf, a smiley face, a cross, and a skull — were gang identifiers. Trump repeated this claim in an interview with ABC News. The administration even released a photo with the letters M, S, 1 and 3 digitally added to “explain” their meaning.
On 10 April 2025, the US Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to bring him back. He returned to US custody in June.
ICE attempts to deport him again
His return did not put an end to the government’s efforts. Soon after, he was arrested again — this time charged with trafficking undocumented migrants.
The charge stems from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. Ábrego had been pulled over for speeding while driving with nine passengers. Police suspected human smuggling but let him go and didn’t charge him.
Ábrego pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers moved to dismiss the case. By then, he had been separated from his family for over 160 days.
ICE attempted to deport him again — not to El Salvador, where it was legally forbidden — but to several African countries, including Liberia.
A Maryland judge blocked the move in July. Since then, Ábrego had been held by ICE, with his lawyers arguing that the government was retaliating against him for exposing its earlier mistakes. They say sending him to unrelated third countries violates due process.
Garcia is released under strict conditions
After months of legal battles, Ábrego’s legal team picked him from a Pennsylvania facility on Thursday, his attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg confirmed.
Moshenberg told CNN that Ábrego would now finally be able to reunite with his family — for only the second time this year.
“Today what we saw is the triumph of law over power. I don’t think this case is over, but it’s a huge victory today,” he said.
But Ábrego is not fully free. He remains under pre-trial release conditions tied to the human smuggling case in Nashville.
He must live under the custody of his brother in Maryland and cannot leave the state without permission from the Tennessee court. He’s also restricted from leaving his residence except for work, medical visits, religious services, or court appearances.
His trial is scheduled for January, though his attorneys are pushing to have the charges dismissed altogether. A major hearing on the issue had been set for this week, but the judge cancelled it earlier this month. CNN reports that sealed court proceedings are now underway.
With input from agencies
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