Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native living Maryland, was mistakenly deported in March to a mega-prison in his home country of El Salvador — despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution — after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which his family denies.
After a series of court battles in which the Trump administration said it could not bring him back despite the Supreme Court ordering them to facilitate his return, Abrego Garcia was indicted for allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the United States, and brought back to the U.S. to face charges.
Here is how the case has unfolded.
March 15, 2025
The Trump administration, as part of its immigration crackdown, deports three planeloads of alleged migrant gang members to El Salvador, where they are incarcerated in the notorious CECOT mega-prison under an agreement with the Salvadoran government. The alleged gang members include Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose protected legal status precludes him from being deported to that country.
Salvadoran police officers escort alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recently deported by the U.S. government to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center prison, in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, obtained March 16, 2025.
Presidency Of El Salvador/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
March 18, 2025
Families of several of the deported men tell ABC News that their detained relatives have no criminal record in the United States — a fact that’s acknowledged by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official, who nonetheless says that “the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose” and “demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile.”
April 1, 2025
In a sworn declaration as part of a lawsuit brought by Abrego Garcia’s attorneys, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official says Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador as a result of an “administrative error” — but that he is still under a “final order of removal” for deportation, after the government rescinded his protected legal status due to his purported gang ties as alleged by a confidential police informant.
Court documents say that on March 12, Abrego Garcia was detained by ICE officers who “informed him that his immigration status had changed” due to the MS-13 allegations, after which he was transferred to a detention center in Texas and then deported to El Salvador.
Undated photo provided by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, a man identified by Jennifer Vasquez Sura as her husband, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is led by force by guards through the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador.
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland via AP
April 4, 2025
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, at a hearing in Maryland, grants a preliminary injunction and orders the government to “facilitate and effectuate” the return of Abrego Garcia to the United States by midnight on April 7.
Asked by Judge Xinis under what authority law enforcement officers seized Abrego Garcia, DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni says he does not have the answer, telling the judge, “Your honor, my answer to a lot of these questions is going to be frustrating and I’m also frustrated that I have no answers for you on a lot of these questions.”
April 5, 2025
A day after the hearing, the Justice Department places DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni on indefinite paid leave over a “failure to zealously advocate” for the government’s interests.
April 7, 2025
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issues a temporary administrative stay putting off Judge Xinis’ midnight deadline for the government to return Abrego Garcia from El Salvador, in order to give the court more time to consider the arguments presented by both sides.
April 8, 2025
After the Trump administration, in a court filing, argues that a judge can’t demand Abrego Garcia’s return because a federal court can’t order a president to engage in foreign diplomacy, an attorney for Abrego Garcia tells ABC News he believes the Supreme Court will rule in his client’s favor.
April 9, 2025
In an interview with ABC News, Abrego Garcia’s wife, a U.S. citizen, denies the Trump administration’s allegation that her husband is a member of the criminal gang MS-13.
Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, speaks during a press conference on the day of a hearing in the case related to Kilmar Abrego Garcia outside U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, April 15, 2025.
Leah Millis/Reuters
April 10, 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rules that Judge Xinis “properly requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”
“The intended scope of the term ‘effectuate’ in the District Court’s order is, however, unclear, and may exceed the District Court’s authority,” the court writes. “The District Court should clarify its directive, with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”
The Trump administration, interpreting the ruling as prohibiting the district court from ordering the executive branch to take any action that would violate the separation of powers, celebrates the order as a victory for the administration.
April 11, 2025
Saying “the Supreme Court has spoken quite clearly” that Abrego Garcia should be released from El Salvador, Judge Xinis slams the government’s handling of the case and orders the Justice Department to provide her with “daily updates” on Abrego Garcia’s status and their efforts to bring him back.
April 12, 2025
A State Department official, in response to Judge Xinis’ demand for daily updates, tells the judge that Abrego Garcia is “alive and secure” in El Salvador’s CECOT prison, but provides no information about their efforts to return him to the United States.
April 14, 2025
Attorney General Pam Bondi, in an Oval Office meeting with President Trump and the visiting El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, says that Abrego Garcia’s return is “up to El Salvador,” after which Bukele says, “I don’t have the power to return him to the United States.”
President Donald Trump meets with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, April 14, 2025.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
April 15, 2025
Judge Xinis, in a hearing, takes Justice Department attorneys to task over the Trump administration’s inaction and orders government officials to testify under oath through expedited discovery in order to resolve Abrego Garcia’s wrongful deportation.
Prior to the hearing, a DHS official says the Trump administration is “prepared to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s presence in the United States … if he presents at a port of entry” — but that DHS does not have the authority to forcibly extract him “from the domestic custody of a foreign sovereign nation.”
April 16, 2025
The Department of Justice files notice that it will appeal Judge Xinis’ ruling ordering the government to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return, and releases two documents that were previously used to allegedly tie Abrego Garcia to MS-13.
The developments come on the same day that DHS, in a social media post, shares court records showing that Abrego Garcia’s wife had a month-long order of protection against him in 2021, in which she cited being slapped, hit with an object, and being detained against her will.
Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, where Abrego Garcia and his family live, travels to El Salvador in the hope of meeting with Abrego Garcia to get answers about his deportation and check on his condition.
April 17, 2025
Slamming the government for “asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit denies the Trump administration’s effort to appeal Judge Xinis’ order requiring it to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return.
Late in the day, Sen. Van Hollen shares a photo on social media of him meeting with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador. Abrego Garcia’s wife is told that the meeting was set up by El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, a source close to the family tells ABC News.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen shares photo of meeting Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen/ X
April 18, 2025
Sen. Van Hollen, at a news conference following his return from El Salvador, provides details of his meeting with Abrego Garcia, saying that authorities brought Abrego Garcia to his hotel for the meeting and that Abrego Garcia told him he had been transferred nine days ago to another facility and was no longer being held at the CECOT mega-prison — although he still has no access to news and no ability to communicate with the outside world.
April 20, 2025
Trump administration border czar Tom Homan tells ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl that the administration properly used the Alien Enemies Act when it deported Abrego Garcia.
Sen. Van Hollen, discussing Abrego Garcia in a separate “This Week” interview, tells Karl, “I am not defending the man. I’m defending the rights of this man to due process.”
April 21, 2025
The Salvadoran government rejects a request from four Democratic lawmakers to visit Abrego Garcia in El Salvador.
April 22, 2025
Judge Xinis, overruling objections raised by the Trump administration, orders the government to more fully answer and respond to discovery requests from Abrego Garcia’s attorneys.
April 23, 2025
Judge Xinis, at the Trump administration’s request, temporarily pauses discovery in the case for seven days.
April 29, 2025
In an exclusive interview with ABC News to mark his 100th day in office, President Trump says he “could” secure the return of Abrego Garcia, and “if he were the gentleman that you say he is, I would do that” — before adding, “I’m not the one making this decision.”
April 30, 2025
Multiple sources tell ABC News that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been in touch with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele about Abrego Garcia, although details of their contact are not immediately clear.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia speaks with a Tennessee state trooper on the side of I-40 in 2022.
Tennessee Highway Patrol
May 2, 2025
Newly released video shows the moments when Abrego Garcia was pulled over by state troopers in Tennessee in 2022.
May 6, 2025
Sources tell ABC News that the Justice Department has spoken with a convicted felon in an Alabama prison about potential connections to the 2022 Tennessee traffic stop involving Abrego Garcia.
May 7, 2025
Judge Xinis orders attorneys for Abrego Garcia and the DOJ to submit briefs by May 12 and schedules a hearing for May 16 after the Trump administration invokes the rarely used state secrets privilege to shield information about its handling of the matter.
May 8, 2025
Attorneys for Abrego Garcia, saying they’re “still in the dark” after deposing three government officials in the case, ask Judge Xinis to authorize the depositions of three additional officials.
May 13, 2025
Lawyers for Abrego Garcia, in a court filing, push back on the Trump administration’s invocation of the state secrets privilege, saying that the government has produced no evidence that it’s made “the slightest effort” to facilitate his release.
May 16, 2025
Under orders from Judge Xinis following a hearing on the matter, the Trump administration releases Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s May 5 declaration supporting the invocation of the state secrets privilege in the case. Rubio, in the declaration, says that the disclosure of certain information requested by Abrego Garcia’s attorneys “could be expected to cause significant harm to the foreign relations interests” and national security interests of the U.S.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is placed in the back seat of a truck by ICE agents after arriving in Nashville, Tenn., June 6, 2025.
ABC News
June 6, 2025
Abrego Garcia is brought back to the U.S. to face criminal charges for allegedly participating in a yearslong conspiracy to haul undocumented migrants from Texas to the interior of the United States. Attorney General Pam Bondi, after the administration had said for months that it could not bring him back, says, “Our government presented El Salvador with an arrest warrant and they agreed to return him to our country.”
Abrego Garcia makes his initial court appearance in the Middle District of Tennessee, answering “Yes, I understand” in Spanish when U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes asks him if he understands the charges against him.
