Homeland Security said Wednesday that it discovered Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the MS-13 gang suspect at the center of a political and legal battle, had a second domestic violence allegation lodged against him when he was living in the U.S. illegally.
Jennifer Vasquez filed a petition in 2020 saying her husband shoved and slapped her and mentally abused her children, including locking them in their bedroom when they cried. Two of the children were his stepchildren and one was his biological son.
In one instance in 2019, she said, Mr. Abrego Garcia dragged her by the hair out of the car and left her in the street.
She said she also had a recording of her husband saying that “even if he kills me, no one can do anything to him.”
“The facts are clear: Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a violent illegal alien who abuses women and children. He had no business being in our country, and we are proud to have deported this violent thug,” said Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
Democrats argue that Mr. Abrego Garcia is a Maryland resident and father whose deportation in March was an affront to justice.
Several Democrats have made visits to El Salvador to try to see Mr. Abrego Garcia and demand his return.
The Trump administration has called him an odd pick for a martyr.
They have highlighted a 2022 traffic stop by police where he had eight people in his vehicle and, authorities said, appeared to be smuggling them.
Prince George’s County gang unit police have also concluded Mr. Abrego Garcia was likely a member of MS-13, based on his behavior and information from a confidential informant who identified him by gang rank and nickname.
Ms. Vasquez, who now has begged for her husband’s return, also filed for an order of protection against him in 2021, when she said Mr. Abrego Garcia punched and scratched her and ripped off her shirt.
A federal judge in Maryland, backed by a Supreme Court order, has directed the administration to try to return Mr. Abrego Garcia to the U.S. The district judge has called his arrest unconstitutional and his deportation unlawful.
Mr. Abrego Garcia was ruled an unauthorized immigrant and given an order of deportation in 2019. But the immigration judge said he could have faced torture or persecution in his home country, so he was granted “withholding,” meaning he couldn’t be sent to El Salvador but could be deported elsewhere.
At that time, he was also ruled by another immigration judge to likely be a member of MS-13.
In March, the Trump administration mistakenly put him on a plane to El Salvador anyway.
Trump officials now say that deportation is valid because MS-13 has been declared a terrorist organization, which negates the withholding order.
Officials say if he were to be returned, he would be quickly turned around and deported again.
El Salvador’s president has said Mr. Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran citizen now in their custody, and he won’t be returned.
