The U.S. Government’s Extraordinary Pursuit of Kilmar Ábrego García By Cristian Farias | September 15, 2025 --- Overview Kilmar Ábrego García, a Salvadoran immigrant and sheet-metal worker, has become the focus of an extraordinary legal and political campaign by the U.S. government under the Trump administration. His case reveals issues of potential political prosecution, wrongful deportation, harsh immigration enforcement, and disputed criminal charges linked to allegations of gang affiliation. --- Timeline and Key Events March 12, 2025: Ábrego García is arrested by ICE near his Maryland home, with his youngest son in the car. The government moves to fly hundreds of alleged members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang to El Salvador’s CECOT prison under the Alien Enemies Act, wrongly including Ábrego García. Wrongful Deportation: He was deported to El Salvador in error, as courts later ruled. His initial U.S. immigration case began in 2019 after being arrested in Maryland. He applied for asylum and was granted withholding of removal due to credible fear of persecution by gangs and corruption in El Salvador. Legal Battles: Lawyers filed a civil lawsuit demanding his return from El Salvador. Federal courts, including the Supreme Court, ruled in his favor, ordering the government to facilitate his release back to the U.S. June 6, 2025: Ábrego García is returned to the U.S., but instead of Maryland, he is sent to Tennessee with a new federal indictment accusing him of unlawfully transporting undocumented immigrants across state lines. --- Government’s Actions and Legal Challenges Federal judges in Tennessee ordered his pretrial release, but ICE delayed it through shifting explanations. The government gave Ábrego García a coerced choice: plead guilty and accept deportation to Costa Rica with refugee status or face release and potential deportation to Uganda (later said to be Eswatini), a destination unknown to the African nations involved. After choosing release and reporting to ICE in Baltimore on August 22, 2025, Ábrego García was immediately rearrested. His legal team filed a habeas corpus petition and argue that the indictment is a political prosecution aimed at retaliation for his previous legal victories. Courts have blocked the government from taking further action pending hearings. --- Political and Public Response Maryland Representative Glenn Ivey and Senator Chris Van Hollen have publicly supported Ábrego García, condemning the government’s misuse of legal processes. The government’s campaign included a media blitz accusing Ábrego García of gang involvement and domestic violence, charges which his lawyers and family contest. Vice-President J.D. Vance falsely called him a “convicted MS-13 gang member,” despite lack of convictions or credible evidence. The main evidence cited stems from a discredited police report. Ábrego García maintains his innocence and plans to seek asylum again, with his defense highlighting the unconstitutional weaponization of immigration law. --- Legal and Evidentiary Issues The criminal indictment is based mainly on a 2022 traffic stop where Ábrego García was transporting nine Hispanic men without paperwork, but no immediate charges were filed at that time. The prosecution relies on testimony from informants with criminal backgrounds and conflicting statements. Judges handling the case have undermined government claims: found no grounds for detention or credible evidence of gang ties, and acknowledged domestic violence claims had no recent incidents. The government’s attempt to coerce a guilty plea via threats of obscure deportation destinations underlines a strategy to avoid public trials and due process. --- Broader Context and Implications The case exemplifies the Trump administration’s intensified targeting of immigrants and selective use of justice for political ends. It exposes