The Department of Homeland Security released new information about Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Wednesday to dispel the democratic narrative that the El Salvador native is a “Maryland man.”
Abrego Garcia, a man the Department of Justice has classified as an MS-13 member, was deported to his home country of El Salvador last month. Democratic lawmakers have pointed to a lack of paperwork as evidence that he was mistakenly deported. Abrego Garcia will remain in El Salvador’s terrorism confinement center, Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, as President Nayib Bukele has committed to keep him.
“Kilmar Abrego Garcia had a history of violence and was not the upstanding ‘Maryland Man’ the media has portrayed him as. According to court filings, Garcia’s wife sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, claiming he punched, scratched, and ripped off her shirt, among other harm,” DHS wrote on X Wednesday. “This MS-13 gang member is not a sympathetic figure.”
The post included a screenshot of the restraining order filed in May 2021. At that point, Abrego Garcia had been married to his wife, Jennifer, for almost two years, and she had given birth to their only child. Before this incident, Abrego Garcia had been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody but had successfully gained “withholding of removal” status. Jennifer had already testified on his behalf to obtain this status.
Reports referring to Abrego Garcia’s deportation have referred to him as a “Maryland man” despite his history of illegally immigrating to the U.S. in 2011. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt spent a large part of Tuesday’s press briefing lambasting outlets for using such phrasing while reporting on the MS-13 gang member.
“Why are House Democrats spending your taxpayer money and bending over backwards to bring an alleged domestic abuser and illegal immigrant back into the US?” the National Republican Congressional Committee responded to the post.
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN ATTEMPTS TO MEET KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA AS RACHEL MORIN’S MOTHER SLAMS SENATOR
“This is who Senate Democrats want to bring back to America,” the Senate Republicans’ account wrote.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) announced he was leaving for El Salvador on Wednesday with the “hope” to meet Abrego Garcia in the CECOT.