Fact Check: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador, was wrongfully deported from the United States in March 2023, violating a 2019 U.S. immigration judge's order that protected him from deportation due to potential gang persecution.

Fact Check: "Kilmar Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported from the United States in March 2023, violating a 2019 U.S. immigration judge's order that protected him from deportation due to potential gang persecution."

What We Know

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador, was deported from the United States in March 2023. This action was taken despite a 2019 ruling by a U.S. immigration judge that prohibited his deportation due to the risk of gang persecution he faced in El Salvador (ABC News). The deportation occurred during a period marked by aggressive immigration policies under the Trump administration, which included the use of the Alien Enemies Act to expedite removals of migrants from certain countries, including El Salvador (PBS).

In a recent court appearance, it was confirmed that Abrego Garcia had been returned to the U.S. after the Supreme Court ordered the government to facilitate his return, highlighting the legal complexities surrounding his case (Washington Post). His legal team has argued that the deportation was not only wrongful but also executed in violation of existing judicial orders (New York Times).

Analysis

The evidence strongly supports the claim that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported. The 2019 immigration judge's order explicitly barred his deportation due to the potential for persecution from gangs in El Salvador, a fact corroborated by multiple sources (ABC News, New York Times). The deportation itself has been described as a significant legal misstep, with his attorneys asserting that the charges against him were filed only after he was illegally deported, raising questions about the motivations behind the legal actions taken against him (PBS, Washington Post).

The reliability of the sources is generally high, as they include major news outlets and legal documents. However, it is important to note that the political context surrounding the Trump administration's immigration policies may introduce some bias in the framing of the events. For instance, the administration's approach to immigration was often criticized for being harsh and punitive, which could influence how cases like Abrego Garcia's are reported (Niskanen Center).

Conclusion

Verdict: True
The claim that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported from the United States in March 2023, in violation of a 2019 immigration judge's order, is substantiated by multiple credible sources. The evidence indicates that his deportation was not only against judicial orders but also part of a broader pattern of aggressive immigration enforcement that disregarded individual rights and protections.

Sources

1. first, Abrego Garcia was wearing
2. Kilmar Abrego García pleads not guilty to human ...
3. What to Know About Abrego Garcia's Deportation and ...
4. Wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador
5. Kilmar Abrego Garcia pleads not guilty to human ...
6. Kilmar Abrego Garcia brought back to US, appears in court on ...
7. Kilmar Abrego Garcia's wife shares message ahead of ...
8. Op-ed: The Kilmar Abrego case, explained