Kilmar Abrego Garcia entered the news in March 2025 after he was deported to El Salvador despite a court ruling that should have prevented it. His complicated legal fight since then has galvanized both sides of the debate over President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
There is a civil case in Maryland where the 30-year-old is challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s attempts to deport him again. There is also a criminal case in Tennessee, where the government accuses him of human smuggling. Finally, there is a petition in immigration court, where he hopes to pursue an asylum claim.
Here is a timeline of key events:
Abrego Garcia flees El Salvador for the U.S. as a teenager.
Abrego Garcia is arrested outside a Maryland hardware store. Police accuse him of being a gang member and turn him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A Maryland immigration judge rules that Abrego Garcia cannot be deported to El Salvador, where a gang has threatened his family. He is given a work permit and placed under federal supervision.
Abrego Garcia is mistakenly deported to El Salvador and held in a notoriously brutal prison.
The U.S. Supreme Court says the Trump administration must work to bring Abrego Garcia back.
Abrego Garcia is unexpectedly returned to the U.S. and charged with human smuggling, based on a Tennessee traffic stop from 2022.
ICE announces plans to remove him to a series of African countries, but is blocked by an injunction from a Maryland federal judge.
Abrego Garcia petitions to reopen his immigration case to pursue asylum in the United States.
A federal judge in Maryland orders ICE to immediately release Abrego Garcia while his legal challenge against his deportation proceeds.
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