Not long ago, the Trump Administration wrongly deported Maryland Father Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, where he is being held in the country’s infamous mega prison: The Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT).
This occurred after the Administration’s deal with El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, offering $6 million to the country to detain Venezuelan Migrants who are alleged “Gang members”.
According to the Administration, Garcia was deported and placed in CECOT due to being a member of the gang Ms-13 (Mara Salvatrucha), a notoriously violent gang founded in Los Angeles California, and rooted in El Salvador.
However, Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, states that to be false: “Everything they are saying is wrong. My husband is a loving father, and what I know is that he’s an amazing husband, an amazing father. That’s who he truly is.”
Abrego was also deported beside 200+ Venezuelan men, who Administration insists are also members of Ms-13.
Abrego had reportedly been fighting for his legal status since the 2010s. One article reporting the situation mentions, “Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, entered the US illegally sometime around 2011, but an immigration judge in 2019, after reviewing evidence, withheld his removal. That meant he could not be deported to El Salvador but could be deported to another country. A gang in his native country, the immigration judge found, had been “targeting him and threatening him with death because of his family’s pupusa business.”
The gang from his hometown San Salvador, being Barrio 18 not Ms-13, showed he had no involvement with the gang as Administration claims.
Since the Judge ruled against his removal, Abrego Garcia’s family claimed his now arrest to be unjust and brought the case to the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the Family (9-0) and demanded the Government forward his return to the U.S
However, in a new meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office, President Bukele stated that he would not return the Maryland citizen anytime soon, “How can I return him to the United States? Like if I smuggle him into the United States? Of course, I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous.” Bukele exclaimed in one interview.
The situation has led to many contrasting opinions. Some students considered the Trump Administration’s actions in Abrego’s case as ‘racial profiling’, as the Administration seems to assume all Venezuelan & Salvadorian migrants are alleged gang members, when many are trying to escape gang violence.
11th grader Niyana Crinston, when asked of why wrongful deportations are taking place stated, “Because he’s [Trump] racist” and when further questioned on Abrego’s case specifically, she asserted, “They [Trump Administration] don’t care”.
Some also believe that wrongful deportations can take place because of many factors, not just the government. When asked his thoughts on Abrego’s case, 11th grader Noah Join expressed, “It could be [due to] targeting from anyone- relatives, neighbors, but at the same time it could also be wrong information on that citizen. If they had their visa, it would be another story” Except, Abrego was revealed to been issued a work permit and was allowed to enter the Union during the 2010s.
So as of now, his case seems to be at a standstill, and Abrego remains in prison until further notice.