Kilmar Abrego Garcia Arrested By ICE As Supporters Rally Against Deportation

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador charged with human smuggling, in Maryland on Monday morning. He is being processed for deportation.

The arrest came after Abrego Garcia checked in at the ICE office in Baltimore on Monday, just days after he was released from federal prison in Tennessee. Before turning himself in, Abrego Garcia and about 150 supporters rallied in solidarity outside the ICE facility and protested the Trump administration’s handling of the case.

Abrego Garcia, 30, faces federal charges of conspiracy to transport aliens and unlawful transportation of illegal aliens. Those charges came after he was deported to El Salvador against judicial protection orders. The Trump administration has accused him of being a member of the MS-13 gang. 

“Today, ICE law enforcement arrested Kilmar Abrego Garcia and are processing him for deportation,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on X. “President Trump is not going to allow this illegal alien, who is an MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator to terrorize American citizens any longer.”

He had been held in federal prison for months as he awaited trial for human smuggling charges before a judge allowed his release on Friday.

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“I want you to remember this. Remember that I am free and I was able to be reunited with my family,” Abrego Garcia told supporters in Spanish, according to a translator.

He also lashed out at the Trump administration. 

“To all the families who have been separated or to all the families who have been threatened with family separation, this administration has hit us hard. But I want to tell you guys something: God is with us and God will never leave us. God will bring justice to all of the injustice that we are suffering,” he said, according to the translator. 

As he entered the ICE facility, the crowd chanted, “We are all Kilmar.” 

Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said that they were informed on Friday by the Justice Department that he would be deported to Uganda if he does not plead guilty to human smuggling. If he took the plea deal, he would be deported to Costa Rica after serving time for the crime. 

For weeks, the Justice Department fought against releasing Abrego Garcia before his trial, pointing to his alleged history of violence toward his wife, sexual misconduct toward young girls, and participation in a human smuggling ring. They pointed to previous domestic violence complaints filed against him by his wife and testimony that he lied to law enforcement during a traffic stop in Tennessee during an alleged smuggling run. 

“A federal grand jury has charged Abrego Garcia with serious federal crimes … underscoring the clear danger this defendant presents to the community,” a Justice Department spokesman said over the weekend. “This defendant can plead guilty and accept responsibility or stand trial before a jury. Either way, we will hold Abrego Garcia accountable and protect the American people.”