The Trump administration on Wednesday released documents containing evidence to support Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s membership in the violent MS-13 gang, bolstering its messaging fight about keeping him out of the United States despite mistakenly deporting the Salvadoran native to a prison in his home country.
Abrego Garcia was apprehended by law enforcement in Maryland in the presence of other known MS-13 members, was wearing clothing affiliated with MS-13, and was identified as a member of MS-13 by an informant who had “provided truthful accurate information in the past,” according to the documents.
The records had been used in Abrego Garcia’s first series of immigration court proceedings in 2019 but had not been widely circulated until now. They come as critics claim the administration has failed to present evidence that Abrego Garcia, who denies gang membership, was a member of MS-13.
Attorney General Pam Bondi shared a link on Wednesday to 13 pages of the police and immigration records dating back to 2019.
We are releasing additional information on Kilmar Abrego Garcia.https://t.co/RbZkFvuRaf
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) April 16, 2025
One of the documents includes details from a Prince George’s County Police gang unit interview following Abrego Garcia’s arrest outside a Home Depot in Hyattsville, Maryland, in March 2019.
Officers stopped four men, including known MS-13 members, and observed Abrego Garcia wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie depicting presidents with money covering their eyes, ears, and mouth —an image officers said signaled allegiance to MS-13’s code of silence, “ver, oír y callar.”
“Wearing the Chicago Bulls hat represents that they are a member in good standing with the MS-13,” police officers noted at the time.
According to a reliable confidential source cited by police, Abrego Garcia was an “active member” of MS-13’s Western clique with the moniker “Chele” and the gang rank of “Chequeo,” according to the last page of a field interview sheet. Others in the group had tattoos associated with MS-13’s upper ranks, including skulls and horned devils.
One of them, Christhyan Hernandez-Romero, had previously been convicted for gang participation and carried the rank of “observacion,” or watcher, according to the documents.
Homeland security officials noted in a deportation report that Abrego Garcia admitted entering the U.S. illegally in 2012 and had no legal immigration status or known criminal record.
Although he claimed to have no gang affiliation in his defense, the Board of Immigration Appeals in 2019 upheld a lower judge’s denial of bond, citing the weight of the gang allegations and calling him a danger to the community.
“The Respondent has failed to present evidence to rebut [his] gang membership,” the judge wrote at the time, noting that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers had relied on gang validation procedures and corroborating sources.
The records come as the Trump administration escalates its efforts to deport foreign nationals with suspected ties to criminal organizations. Earlier in the day, the Department of Homeland Security publicly released a restraining order against Abrego Garcia filed by his wife, a U.S. citizen, in May 2021, revealing claims that he “punched, scratched, and ripped off her shirt, among other harm.”
The Salvadoran man’s wife has shown sympathy and support for his return since he was deported last month.
DHS PUBLICLY RELEASES RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA TO SHOW ‘HISTORY OF VIOLENCE’
Abrego Garcia’s case has become a flashpoint after a federal judge questioned whether and how the administration must help facilitate his return following his wrongful deportation to El Salvador.
After his arrest and identification as a member of MS-13 in March 2019, a second immigration judge later that year credited Abrego Garcia’s claim that he would face persecution if sent back to El Salvador and ruled that the Salvadoran migrant could not be returned to his home country.
The Supreme Court recently declined to intervene directly, leaving the matter in lower court hands as El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has also vowed not to send Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. during his visit to Washington earlier this week.