Deported El Salvadoran at heart of court case admitted he entered U.S. illegally, police reported

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the deported El Salvadoran man at the center of an historic immigration case, admitted to authorities in 2019 when he was first detained that he entered the United States illegally and had no basis for seeking asylum, according to police reports released Wednesday that also positively identified him as a member of the MS-13 criminal gang.

The records, released by Attorney General Pam Bondi, show that Abrego Garcia was among a group of men detained by Prince George County police in the Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C. who “freely admitted being citizens and nationals of El Salvador by birth and that they were present in the United States illegally.”

“The subjects were not in possession of any immigration documents that would allow them to be in or remain in the United States legally,” one report added.

The documents were released as the Trump administration tried to aggressively counter Democrats, news media and Abrego Garcia family members who claim he is a "Maryland father" and a victim of an unjust and rushed deportation to El Salvador a few weeks ago. The administration argues he was lawfully deported under two prior court orders.

Nonetheless, a federal judge has ordered him returned to the country, something El Salvador's president is refusing to do.

Abrego Garcia, at the time 23 years old, was interviewed by the local police and federal immigration officials as he was taken into custody in March 2019 in the Washington D.C. suburbs and provided detailed information on how he crossed the southern U.S. border illegally seven years earlier.

“Abrego Garcia is a citizen and national of El Salvador,” a Homeland Security summary of his arrest stated. “Abrego Garcia claimed to have walked across the desert for many days entering illegally into the United States near McAllen, Texas on or about March 25, 2012. Record checks showed that Abrego Garcia has no immigration history.”

That same report showed Abrego Garcia was offered a chance to claim he needed humanitarian assistance for illness or had reason to seek refuge from persecution – two grounds for asylum – but he denied needing either. In fact, he told authorities he was willing to leave the United States.

“Abrego Garcia has made no claims to USC or LPR and is amenable to removal under 212 (a) (6) (A) (i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, in that Abrego Garcia is an alien present in the United States without being admitted or paroled, or who arrived in the United States at any time or place other than as designated by the Attorney General,” the report said.

It added that he “claims to be in good health” and that “Abrego Garcia is not claiming fear of returning to his country.”

You can read the full report here.

The report also included intelligence from the Prince George County Gang Unit allegedly connecting him to gang membership.

“Per Prince Georges County Police Gang Unit, Abrego Garcia was validated as a member of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) Gang. Subject was identified as a member of the Mara Salvatrucha MS-13, "Chequeo" from the Western Clique a transnational criminal street gang,” the memo stated.

A separate report attached to the Homeland Security document detailed how Prince George police tied Abrego Garcia to the notorious gang, which has now been designated by President Donald Trump as a foreign terrorist organization.

Police “observed he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and a hoodie with rolls of money covering the eyes, ears and mouth of the presidents on the separate denominations,” the report stated. “Officers know such clothing to be indicative of the Hispanic gang culture. The meaning of the clothing is to represent ‘ver, oir y callar’ or ‘see no evil, hear no evil and say no evil.’

“Wearing the Chicago Bulls hat represents that they are a member in good standing with the MS-13,” the report added. “Officers contacted a past proven and reliable source of information, who advised Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia is an active member of MS-13 with the Westerns clique. The confidential source further advised that he is the rank of ‘Chequeo’ with the moniker of ‘Chele.’"

Abrego Garcia claimed to police he knew nothing about gangs or drug running, the report added.