Kilmar Abrego Garcia transferred to El Salvador facility with own bed and furniture, update reveals
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom the Trump administration said was deported to El Salvador because of an "administrative error," is now being detained at a lower security facility in Santa Ana, El Salvador, according to Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen.
Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran national who lived in Maryland, was transferred from the notorious CECOT prison to the administration building at Centro Industrial, where he has his own room with a bed and furniture, rather than a prison cell, according to a court filing that cited Van Hollen's remarks.
On Sunday, the U.S. State Department said in an update to the federal district court in Maryland that Abrego Garcia was moved to the facility eight days before Van Hollen met with him in El Salvador last week.
Federal Judge Paula Xinis ordered the government to provide daily status updates on Abrego Garcia's condition and location.
Sen. Van Hollen says Abrego Garcia faced threats
Van Hollen said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that Abrego Garcia was facing threats in CECOT from other prisoners. The Maryland senator added that the Salvadoran government "tried really hard" to prevent the meeting.
During his visit, Van Hollen said he told Abrego Garcia the court determined he was wrongfully detained and deported. Abrego Garcia explained he wasn't able to make a phone call from the Baltimore ICE detention center and didn't know he would be deported.
Van Hollen called the deportation an abduction without due process.
"Because when you trample on the constitutional rights of one man, as the courts have said in this case, you trample on the rights of every American," Van Hollen said.
Van Hollen explained he didn't ask the Maryland resident if he was affiliated with any gangs, adding the purpose of his visit was to check on Abrego Garcia's condition.
"I was not there to litigate all of the details of this case," Van Hollen said on Face the Nation. "I was there to make sure he was still alive and to check on his health."
Abrego Garcia under "withholding of removal" order
Abrego Garcia came to the U.S. illegally in 2011 and was arrested in 2019. When he was released from immigration detention, he was granted a "withholding of removal" order, which should have stopped the government from deporting him back to El Salvador.
His deportation launched a legal battle, as he was under a protection order when he was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after leaving a sheetmetal apprenticeship job in Baltimore in March.
ICE officials admitted in a court filing that Abrego Garcia's deportation occurred because of an administrative error, however, they did not move to correct the mistake.
The legal proceedings are still playing out in federal court after the Trump administration was ordered by a federal judge and later by the Supreme Court to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S.
Abrego Garcia does not have a criminal history, according to court documents.
Xinis ordered that all depositions in Abrego Garcia's case be completed by Wednesday, April 23, and said she expects both sides to treat this as an all-hands-on-deck situation.
Abrego Garcia's alleged MS-13 connection
The Trump administration remains adamant that Abrego Garcia is a member of the transnational MS-13 gang. Abrego Garcia's attorney and family deny those allegations.
"They are trying to make this case all about MS-13, when in fact, the judge in the case has said they have not provided substantial or any significant evidence to back up their claim," Van Hollen said.
According to court filings, Abrego Garcia's connection to MS-13 stems from his arrest in 2019. Court documents show that Abrego Garcia was arrested outside of a Home Depot with three other men, at least two of whom had suspected gang ties.
Abrego Garcia was soliciting work outside of the store when police showed up and began questioning the men about gang affiliations, according to Abrego Garcia's attorney
According to the court documents shared by Attorney General Pam Bondi, a detective recognized one of the men in the group as an MS-13 gang member with a criminal history.
Detectives indicated in their report that a second man had tattoos that were "indicative of the Hispanic gang culture."
After interviewing Abrego Garcia, police noted that he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie with symbols that they said were also indicative of gang culture. A source police had previously used also reported that Abrego Garcia was an active MS-13 member, according to court documents.
He was subsequently arrested, and he later appeared in court, where a U.S. immigration judge granted him the "withholding of removal" order and a work permit.
