A Maryland father who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador by U.S. immigration authorities is alive and in custody at a high-security prison, according to a recent court filing from the U.S. State Department.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, was deported last month despite having no criminal record and holding a valid work permit. He had lived in the United States since 2011 and was raising his 5-year-old son in Maryland. His removal, now acknowledged by the U.S. government as an administrative error, has drawn national scrutiny and sparked an urgent legal effort to secure his return.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who previously ruled that Abrego Garcia was unlawfully deported, has ordered the State Department to provide daily updates on his condition and location. In a court filing submitted Saturday, a senior State Department official confirmed that Abrego Garcia is being held in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a controversial facility known for housing high-risk inmates.
“He is alive and secure in that facility,” wrote Michael Kozak of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. “He is detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador.”
The update followed a Friday ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court upholding Judge Xinis’s directive that the federal government take all necessary steps to bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S., and to ensure his case is treated as if the deportation had never occurred.
Despite acknowledging the wrongful deportation, the Trump administration has said that complying with the court’s order is proving more complex and time-consuming than anticipated. Abrego Garcia’s legal team, however, has expressed deep frustration with the delays.
“We’re stunned,” said his attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, in a statement to NPR. “Another day has passed, and still there’s no clarity about what’s being done to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling.”
President Donald Trump, when asked about the case during a media briefing, said he was not familiar with the details but would follow the court’s directive. “If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back, I would do that. I respect the Supreme Court,” he stated.
Abrego Garcia was initially detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on March 12 in Texas. According to court records, he was misinformed about his immigration status before being deported. His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, only learned of his removal after recognizing his face in a photo of detainees at the Salvadoran prison.
Speaking to CBS Mornings, Vasquez Sura said she fears for her husband’s safety in the prison, noting the facility’s reputation. “I’m very scared. I’ve seen the news about that place. They send criminals there. My husband is not a criminal.”
Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. as a teenager without legal documentation in 2011. Reports indicate that he had been granted protected status due to threats from gangs in El Salvador. Since 2019, he had held a legal work permit and was gainfully employed while supporting his family.
President Trump is expected to meet with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele at the White House on Monday, though it remains unclear whether Abrego Garcia’s case will be discussed.
