Administrative Error Blamed For Mistakenly Deporting Armando Abrego Garcia To El Salvador Prison

The Trump administration has admitted to mistakenly deporting Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Maryland resident with protected legal status, to El Salvador, where he ended up in the notorious CECOT prison. Despite acknowledging the error, the administration is fighting his return, citing alleged gang ties that his attorneys say are baseless.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) called the deportation an “administrative error” and described it as an “oversight.” Robert Cerna, ICE’s acting field office director, claimed the deportation was conducted “in good faith” based on a final removal order and “purported membership in MS-13.”

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers insist that no credible evidence links him to any gang. “The U.S. government has never produced an iota of evidence that he’s affiliated with MS-13 or any street gang,” the legal team stated. His attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, added, “They just put him on an airplane. They didn’t try any legal channels where he could defend himself.”

Abrego Garcia was arrested in Baltimore after picking up his autistic son and later transferred to CECOT, a prison infamous for overcrowding and alleged human rights abuses. His wife identified him in prison footage based on tattoos and scars.

He arrived in the U.S. in 2011, fleeing gang violence, and built a life in Maryland with his wife and children. His alleged gang ties trace back to a 2019 arrest where police cited his clothing and an informant’s claim as evidence. Despite being denied asylum, he was granted protection from deportation to El Salvador, which ICE never appealed.

The administration contends that returning him is impossible due to El Salvador’s sovereignty, writing that his attorneys “do not argue that the United States can exercise its will over a foreign sovereign.”

Vice President JD Vance defended the deportation online, saying, “It’s gross to get fired up about gang members getting deported while ignoring citizens they victimize.”

Abrego Garcia’s case gained renewed attention amid Trump’s broader push for mass deportations, including use of wartime powers to remove Venezuelans accused of gang ties. However, Abrego Garcia was deported under standard immigration law.

Link: AP