Kilmar Abrego Garcia becomes symbol of mistaken deportations

"The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia captured national headlines last year as part of a wave of criticism against the second Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement. It was the speed of his deportation from working in Maryland one week, to getting whisked off to a notorious prison in El Salvador the next. But it was also because it was a mistake: something a government lawyer admitted in court."

""We really thought this was going to be one of a kind," said Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, one of Abrego Garcia's lawyers. "If anything, it was just the tip of the spear. There have been countless illegal deportation cases since then. If anything, the problem is getting worse and not better." Sandoval-Moshenberg said he alone has a dozen other plaintiffs like Abrego Garcia."

"For example, last April the same month a Maryland judge told the government to bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. another judge in the state asked for the return of Daniel Lozano-Camargo, a 20-year-old Venezuelan man, identified in court documents as "Cristian." And in July, a New York appeals panel ordered immigration officials to return Jordin Melgar-Salmeron, a 31-year-old Salvadoran. All three were held at a notorious prison in El Salvador that has since been described by detainees as unsanitary and violent."

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported from Maryland to a notorious El Salvador prison within a week after working in the U.S., and a government lawyer later admitted the removal was a mistake. Immigration lawyers say the case exemplifies errors linked to rapid, scaled deportation operations, with advocates reporting numerous illegal removals and some lawyers representing multiple similar plaintiffs. Judges have ordered the return of other wrongly removed migrants, including Daniel Lozano-Camargo and Jordin Melgar-Salmeron. Detainees at the El Salvador prison describe unsanitary, violent conditions. Advocates warn that the administration's speed and deportation targets increase the likelihood of wrongful removals.

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