Cnn
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The Trump administration degenerated its efforts this week to portray the man of Maryland wrongly expelled to El Salvador as a member of a gang with a violent history which, according to them, “never returns” in the United States.
A renewed thrust to launch Kilmar Abrego Garcia as a violent member of MS -13 intervenes in the middle of the growing public outcry against his expulsion, criticisms on the absence of regular procedure which was offered to him and the resistance of the American government to facilitate his return to the court in the country – which could risk a constitutional crisis. Abrego Garcia’s family and lawyers denied that he was a member of a gang.
Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland went to El Salvador on Wednesday to put pressure on the release of his constituent, which the senator described as having been “illegally kidnapped”. Van Hollen met Abrego Garcia on Thursday, who was then delivered in the custody of El Salvador.
The Trump administration criticized the senator’s visit and criticized the media and the Democrats for having presented what they described as an overly pink image of Abrego Garcia, which the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, described as a member of a gang and an “apparent female drummer”.
On Wednesday, the government published non -divided documents on Wednesday from two interactions that Greo Garcia had with the police or the court system: an arrest of 2019 which did not lead to accusations or a conviction, but led to its detention by immigration officials, and to an order of protection of 2021, his wife had deposited against his domestic violence.
Here is what these documents say of his previous interactions with the police:
2019 arrest and immigration audiences
On March 28, 2019, Abrego Garcia and three other men were gathered in the parking lot of a Depot of Maryland Home when they were approached by a detective from the Police of the City of Hyattsville, according to an “ganging field” of the Police Service of Prince George who was published by the prosecutor General Pam Bondi on Wednesday.
The document indicates that two of the men – he does not mention if Abrego Garcia was one of them – “reached their belt and threw several unknown articles under a parked vehicle” as the detective approaches. Two “small plastic bottles containing marijuana” were located nearby by the police, according to the document. The men were taken to a police station where they were questioned.
One of the other three men was recognized by the detective as an active member of MS-13 who had criminal history who included gang members. Another had skull tattoos covering their eyes, their ears and their mouths, which the police document described as “indicative of the culture of Hispanic gangs”.
According to documents, Abrego Garcia wore a hat from Chicago Bulls and a hooded sweatshirt “with silver rolls covering the eyes, ears and mouths of presidents on separate confessions”, who both declared that the police were also “indicative” of gang culture. An anonymous informant told the police that Greo Garcia “is an active member of MS-13 with the Westerns clique”.
A separate document from the Ministry of Internal Security produced after his arrest, which noted that Greo Garcia “has no criminal history,” said that he was carrying about $ 1,178 in cash during his arrest. The documents indicate that “the officers could not determine” if the fourth man was affiliated with a gang. He was released.
Abrego Garcia and one of the men were described in the document as having been detained “within the framework of an investigation into murder”, but he does not provide any other information on this investigation or how one or the other man was identified as having been linked to him. Abrego Garcia has never been accused of murder.
The report contains contradictory information on Abrego Garcia; He simultaneously says that he said and did not claim the police that he was afraid of returning to his country. Abrego Garcia admitted that the police were a citizen of Salvador who illegally entered the United States in 2012. He was arrested by the immigration authorities after this arrest.
His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, described the hiring of a lawyer to bring him out on bail in a declaration which was subject to the court after his expulsion last month. The couple got married in 2019 while Garcia was detained.
“I hired a lawyer to get him out on deposit. I attended his surety hearing and I was shocked when the government said he should remain detained because Kilmar is a member of the MS-13 gang. Kilmar is not and was never a member of a gang.
Generally, immigration judges can be lacking the evidence presented by immigration and the application of customs and the application of the law, leaving the burden on the individual – in this case, Abrego Garcia – to refute complaints and prove that they are not a member of a gang. The immigration judge in the Abrego Garcia case also referred to the previous traffic infilings in the Abrego Garcia file.
“The burden of evidence is the responsibility of the Liberation applicant in this situation. There is a bias against liberation. Any derogatory information, whatever the weakness, will tip the scales against the liberation in this situation,” said David Bier, director of immigration studies at Libertarian-Leaning Institute.
“The fact that there was this summary worksheet there was ultimately sufficient to prevent his deposit of deposit before a determination on the outcome of his case,” he added.
Although the immigration judge did not conclude final to know if Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13, the evidence was sufficient to refuse him the release of the detention of the ICE. Abrego Garcia remained held when he concluded new procedures. He attended immigration hearings in August and September 2019.
Vasquez Sura described the hearing in August in her declaration of court: “The hearing lasted more than five hours and focused on two things: the false accusations against Kilmar and the risk for the life of Kilmar if he was expelled to El Salvador.
The evidence presented at the immigration court included the extortion of the family of Abrego Garcia in Salvador by a gang, including threats to kill Abrego Garcia, according to an order from the immigration judge in 2019. Abrego Garcia’s parents finally decided to send him to the United States in the midst of threats.
Immigration judge David Jones noted: “His testimony was internally consistent, in accordance with his asylum request and other documents, and seemed without embellishment”, adding later: “The court finds the respondible respondent.”
In October 2019, the judge granted Abrego Garcia who retained the dismissal, which means that he could not be moved to Salvador for fear of persecution. The Trump administration in 2019 could have appealed the decision but did not seem.
“If they had appealed, he would have remained detained, but they did not call on the grant, he was therefore released,” said Bier.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Internal Security also published a copy of a civil protection prescription that Abrego Garcia’s wife had asked against him in 2021. Vasquez Sura said later in a statement that the couple had worked on their problems and that she does not believe that the petition justifies the dismissal of Abrego Garcia to El Salvador.
In the 2021 complaint published by the government, Vasquez Sura described arguments that took place between the pair, including one who left Vasquez sura and she described having “afraid of being close to him”.
Wednesday, Vasquez Sura said that she had asked for the protection order “in case things were spread out” and by abundance of caution after having experienced a previous relationship which included abuse.
“Things did not degenerate and I decided not to follow the civil courtyard process,” she said in the press release. “We were able to work in this situation in private as a family, especially by going to Counseling. Our marriage only became stronger than in the years that followed. No one is perfect, and no marriage is perfect. ”
She did not continue the question.
In the court hearings that have taken place since the expulsion of Abrego Garcia, the federal judge supervising the case asked several times to the Ministry of Justice to provide additional information on Abrego Garcia, including previous accusations or convictions, but the Doj has so far done it.
On Wednesday, the protection order published by the government is not a problem in its erroneous deportation – the 2019 order would still prohibit its dismissal in Salvador – but it could be used to strengthen the assertion of the White House that Abrego Garcia has a history of violence, despite his wife who should not be used against him.
At the end of 2022, Abrego Garcia was also arrested in Tennessee for speeding and had several other people in the car. A spokesperson for Tennessee Highway Patrol told CNN that Garcia Garcia had been reported by the federal police, “who made the decision not to hold him”.
Friday, the White House also published an investigation reference from DHS which described the meeting and the history of immigration to Abrego Garcia. According to the report, Abrego Garcia told the officer that he led from Houston to Temple Hills, Maryland, to “bring people to do construction work”, but the lack of luggage in the vehicle led the officer “to suspect that it was a human trafficking incident”. The report also indicates that “the sources of the DHS indicate that Greo has been identified through official surveys for the application of the law as a member” of MS-13.
Friday, Tricia McLaughlin, spokesperson for the Ministry of Internal Security, said that the facts surrounding the traffic of Abrego Garcia stop “Reek of Human Trafficking” – pointing to the number of people and the lack of luggage in the car.
His wife, Vasquez Sura, however said in a statement that her husband “worked in construction and sometimes transported groups of workers between employment sites, it is therefore completely plausible that he would have been arrested by driving with others in the vehicle.”
“He has not been accused of any crime or quoted for any reprehensible act,” she said. “Unfortunately, Kilmar is currently imprisoned without contact with the outside world, which means that he cannot respond to complaints or defend himself.”
Priscilla Alvarez de CNN and Evan Perez contributed.
