Newly revealed abuse allegations fuel White House's resistance to return Abrego Garcia

The Trump administration's resolve to prevent Kilmar Abrego Garcia from returning to the U.S. is stiffening amid newly released allegations that he abused his wife on several occasions, according to White House sources and court documents reviewed by Axios.Why it matters: Garcia's mistaken deportation to a notorious El Salvador prison has become central to the legal and political fight over President Trump's immigration policy and due process for undocumented immigrants.The administration has defied a court order to return him to the U.S., calling the ruling judicial overreach that intrudes on Trump's powers to fight terrorism and carry out foreign policy.Zoom in: Trump's team alleges that Abrego Garcia — a Salvadoran national who entered the U.S. illegally in 2012 — was involved with the notorious MS-13 gang, though he's never been charged with a crime.Abrego Garcia was denied asylum in the U.S. The evidence for his transfer to a Salvadoran maximum-security prison revolved around his tattoos and clothing, an informant's claim, and his 2019 arrest alongside suspected MS-13 members in Maryland.In 2022, Abrego Garcia was stopped in Tennessee for speeding in a vehicle owned by a convicted human smuggler. Eight other people and no luggage were in the car, according to the Department of Homeland Security. He was suspected of human smuggling, but wasn't charged, and the FBI told state police to release him, according to the conservative Tennessee Star.After Abrego Garcia was deported in mid-March, there were reports his wife had complained to police about domestic abuse.Unknown to the administration until this week: Abrego Garcia's wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, actually had told local police in Maryland about a total of six instances of alleged abuse from 2019-2021, according to court documents filed when Vasquez Sura sought a protective order. (DHS released the documents Wednesday.)Vasquez Sura alleged that Abrego Garcia kicked, shoved, slapped, verbally abused her, detained her against her will and threatened to kill her in a dispute on Aug. 3, 2020.Abrego Garcia was never charged. Vasquez Sura now defends him as a good husband and father who's not involved with MS-13, and has been active is calling for the administration to return him to the U.S. The White House, however, is signaling that it will use Vasquez Sura's old allegations to redefine Abrego Garcia's image as a victim of an overzealous deportation operation."The media continues to call him a victim while ignoring the real victims: the women he battered, the children he terrorized, and the communities he endangered," DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said."Let us be crystal clear: Kilmar Abrego Garcia will never be on American streets again."What they're saying: Abrego Garcia's lawyer, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said domestic abuse and human trafficking allegations aren't part of the case about his client's deportation. He emphasized that although reports on those incidents are now public, they haven't been entered into the official case filings."If they want to put him on trial for that, they are welcome to bring him back and do so. We'll defend him in court," Sandoval-Moshenberg said in an email.Critics of the administration's policy and Abrego Garcia's supporters argue that due process applies to everyone in the U.S. — no matter their background or immigration status — and that he's entitled to have his case heard in court.Catch up quick: Abrego Garcia's deportation case is unusually complex.He was illegally in the U.S. and eligible for deportation, but a judge in 2019 said he shouldn't be deported to El Salvador because he had a reasonable fear he would be hurt or killed by a Central American gang.On March 12, Abrego Garcia was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and soon after deported to El Salvador anyway.The administration admitted in court filings that the deportation was a mistake.The intrigue: Trump, the administration and the U.S. Supreme Court have made the case even more confusing.On April 10, the high court ruled the administration had to "facilitate" the release of Abrego Garcia in El Salvador. But the court stopped short of ordering it to "effectuate" his return to the U.S., and kicked the case back to the lower court.On April 14, El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, met with Trump in the White House and told reporters he didn't have the power to "smuggle" Abrego Garcia back to the U.S.Then, in a Tuesday interview with ABC, Trump said he "could" get Abrego Garcia back.On Wednesday, the New York Times reported El Salvador "spurned" a U.S. diplomatic inquiry about freeing Abrego Garcia.

Comments

World news

Russian soldier blown up trying to catch a drone as Ukraine launches massive aerial attack

Comments

Similar News

Canada's "old relationship" with the U.S. is over, newly elected prime minister says

White House uses newly revealed allegations to support refusal to return Kilmar Ábrego García to US

Newly released texts reveal Idaho murder victims nearly left the house two hours before brutal killing

Newly released body cam footage from Gene Hackman's home

Israeli military organises tourist tours of newly occupied Syrian territory

World news

Russian soldier blown up trying to catch a drone as Ukraine launches massive aerial attack

Spanish holiday hotspot loved by Brits now gangster's paradise with crime rife

Grievances and forgiveness were both on display in Prince Harry's raw TV interview

Thousands of Islamists rally in Bangladesh against proposed changes to women's rights

A notorious drug gang is in the crosshairs of a French police investigation of prison attacks

Marco Rubio criticized Germany. The foreign ministry hit back

Chimney installed on roof of Sistine Chapel ahead of conclave to elect new pope

Did our politics fail us during Covid?

Why the Karen Read retrial might end differently this time

What the worst first dates all have in common

Australian PM Anthony Albanese wins re-election

BBC courts David Attenborough for Blue Planet III

Let’s be Frank: Brentford are peaking at just the right time

Scoop: Trump to hold summit with Gulf leaders during Saudi Arabia trip

Early vote count favors Australia's government being reelected for a second term

Druse in Syrian Town Rocked by Violence Agree to Disarm Militias

Scientist bitten by deadly snakes 200 TIMES helps create ‘unparalleled’ anti-venom to save thousands of lives

Donald Trump posts bizarre AI picture of him as POPE after joking he would be ‘top choice’ for next Pontiff

China finally reveals how Covid-19 started – and it's all America's fault

Mothers with newborns forced to leave children behind in India as diplomatic row with Pakistan deepens

The little-known disorder that causes RFK Jr.’s raspy voice

Labor wins Australia election as ‘Trump factor’ swings voters

Tourist taking selfie with ‘fake’ crocodile realises his mistake the hard way

Reform UK in bid to shed ‘boys’ club’ image with election of high-profile women

A watershed moment for the NHS this week – but did anyone actually notice?

Ibiza and Majorca holiday flights cut demanded by islands' government in war on tourists

'The truckers are scrambling': Trump's tariffs hit drivers, L.A. port workers hard

Fired federal prosecutor claims ex-Fatburger CEO's 'smears' reached White House

Tariffs on car parts entering the US come into force

Tunisia jails ex-prime minister on terrorism charges

Captive-bred axolotls thrive in Mexican wetlands, researchers find

After Leading a Liberal Comeback, Carney Hits the Ground Running

Cardinal Parolin, Leader of Papal Conclave, Is Also a Top Candidate

As China Looks for Way Out of U.S. Trade Deadlock, Fentanyl Could Be Key

These Contentious Issues Could Determine Who Becomes the Next Pope

Terrifying moment plane crashes at iconic Riviera Country Club in shock emergency landing as golfers left stunned

Prince Andrew MUST ‘come clean and confess’ to Virginia Guiffre’s family after tragic death, demands lawyer

What the Tariffs Have Done to a Fledgling Small Business

Putin army horror as soldier goes on shooting rampage in Russian village

'There is nothing wrong with taking a stand against Israel's genocide and occupation'

Russian drone attack injures 47 in Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv

Pakistan test fires ballistic missile as tensions with India spike after Kashmir gun massacre

Why some ‘frustrated’ NDP voters flipped to Conservatives in the election

On the Brink: Online trading groups filling an ‘overwhelming’ gap for families

The urgent problem of intimate partner violence and how New Brunswick plans to respond

Horse with cognitive disorder defies odds thanks to generosity of strangers

Quebec passengers stuck on Porter Airlines plane for 7 hours recall ‘nightmare’ experience

Recording reveals details about IDF arrest of Gaza paramedic after aid attack

No, we don't want to be in your workout video

Woman killed in Thessaloniki bomb explosion as police probe Greece bank attack plot

Why Andrea Jenkyns’s success is a risk for Farage

100,000 people give up wild swimming due to Britain’s polluted rivers

I smacked my son – now, years later, I wish I hadn’t

Five people survive 36 hours in alligator-infested swamp after plane crash

America’s Vietnam War Opponents Who Fled to Canada Reflect on the Past and Future

Russians face soaring bills as Kremlin drains economy to fund war says ex-banking chief

Panic in Ukraine as second largest city on fire after Putin's overnight attack

Letters: Want rid of SNP and Labour? Learn a lesson from England

Camley's Cartoon on Trump's Turnberry hopes

Will Anthony Albanese be first Australian PM in 21 years to witness two consecutive election wins?