BALTIMORE — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is doubling down on defending its deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego-Garcia, an undocumented Salvadoran man, who the White House claims is an MS-13 gang member.
Last month ICE agents arrested Abrego-Garcia in Baltimore, where he lived with his wife and child, both of whom are American citizens.
Due to his alleged gang ties, Abrego-Garcia was sent to a notorious Salvadoran prison, despite an immigration judge previously barring his return there over potential safety concerns.
The Trump Administration has expressed extreme frustration with how media outlets have portrayed Abrego-Garcia as a "Maryland Father or Maryland Man," deported to El Salvador.
Trump and his cabinet have tried turning the focus away from their self admitted error of deporting Abrego-Garcia, instead painting him as a foreign terrorist involved in human trafficking.
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On Wednesday the U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted on X, a copy of a Temporary Protective Order, Abrego-Garcia's wife, Jennifer Vasquez, filed against him in May of 2021.
Online court records out of Prince George's County show a district court judge granted Vasquez an interim and temporary restraining order, requiring Abrego-Garcia to vacate the couple's residence and surrender any firearms.
Vasquez no showed a final hearing that June, prompting the case to be dismissed.
"Kilmar Abrego-Garcia had a history of violence and was not the upstanding “Maryland Man” the media has portrayed him as," DHS wrote on X. "According to court filings, Garcia’s wife sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, claiming he punched, scratched, and ripped off her shirt, among other harm. This MS-13 gang member is not a sympathetic figure."
Kilmar Abrego Garcia had a history of violence and was not the upstanding “Maryland Man” the media has portrayed him as.
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) April 16, 2025
According to court filings, Garcia’s wife sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, claiming he punched, scratched, and ripped off her shirt,… pic.twitter.com/FpSV0k3i90
Vasquez since sued the federal government, seeking Abrego-Garcia's return.
The case already reached the U.S. Supreme Court, drawing mass protests across the nation.
MORE: Family of alleged gang member deported to El Salvador prison sues to have him returned to Baltimore
For now Abrego-Garcia remains jailed in his native country, this after the justices ordered Trump's DOJ to facilitate his release.
Government attorneys argue the Supreme Court's ruling doesn't mandate Abrego-Garcia's return to the U.S., considering an immigration judge's previous ruling, ordering his removal from the country, excluding El Salvador.
Abrego-Garcia has repeatedly denied being associated with a gang.
During a Monday visit to the White House, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele indicated he would not release Abrego-Garcia from custody.
The following day a federal judge in Maryland ordered Trump officials to provide sworn depositions on efforts to have him returned to the U.S.
So far they've remained defiant.
