U.S. Admits Error, Returns Man Wrongfully Deported to El Salvador’s Most Feared Prison

U.S. authorities on June 6, 2025, returned Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Maryland after an ICE error led to his Kilmar Abrego Garcia wrongful deportation and subsequent imprisonment in a notorious El Salvadoran mega-prison while he faced pending felony charges in the U.S.

The case represents a significant breakdown in U.S. immigration enforcement protocols, which typically prevent the removal of foreign nationals with active felony cases until they are fully adjudicated. The incident has cast a harsh light on the life-or-death consequences of bureaucratic failures, highlighting both internal coordination issues within the U.S. immigration system and the severe human rights conditions in El Salvador’s prisons.

ICE Admits “Erroneous Removal”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has publicly taken responsibility for the mistake. In a formal statement, an ICE spokesperson confirmed the details of the incident. “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can confirm that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was erroneously removed from the United States,” the spokesperson said. The agency stated that it “has worked with the U.S. Department of Justice and Salvadoran government officials to return Abrego Garcia to the United States” to face his pending criminal proceedings.

A Timeline of a Mistake

The sequence of events began in February 2025, when the 34-year-old Salvadoran national was arrested during a traffic stop in Maryland. He was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury on felony human smuggling charges. Despite the active case against him, ICE deported Abrego Garcia to El Salvador in late April 2025. His family and his lawyer were reportedly not notified of the impending removal. It was only after his family in the U.S. raised the alarm about his detention in El Salvador that diplomatic discussions began, ultimately leading to his return in early June.

Imprisoned in El Salvador’s Crackdown

Upon his arrival in El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was immediately arrested by local authorities under the country’s broad state of emergency laws and imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT. This mega-prison is the centerpiece of President Nayib Bukele’s aggressive crackdown on gangs like MS-13, a policy that has led to over 80,000 arrests since March 2022. Abrego Garcia was detained in the facility despite having no known gang affiliations. Human rights organizations have widely condemned CECOT for its inhumane conditions, severe overcrowding, and lack of due process for inmates.

A System Under Scrutiny

The family of Abrego Garcia expressed profound relief at his return but also distress over the ordeal he endured inside CECOT, a prison they feared for his life in. Legal experts and immigration advocates have pointed to the Kilmar Abrego Garcia wrongful deportation as an extreme example of systemic flaws and poor coordination within the U.S. immigration system.