Migrant Details Abuse in Salvadoran Jail After US Error

Photo: Reuters

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a migrant who was wrongly sent back to El Salvador, shared his painful experience in court this week. He returned to the United States in early June after being deported by mistake in March.

Kilmar lives in Maryland. His wife and young child are U.S. citizens. In 2019, an immigration court said he should not be deported to El Salvador because he might be harmed by gangs there. But on March 15 this year, U.S. officials sent him back, calling it an “administrative error.”

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For the first time, Kilmar told the court what happened to him in El Salvador. When he reached the CECOT high-security prison, he said he was treated very badly. His lawyers shared in the court filing that he was beaten severely, not allowed to sleep properly, given very little food, and faced mental torture. Because of this, he lost 31 pounds in just two weeks.

Some people in the U.S. criticised former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies because of this case. They said the government was focusing more on deporting people quickly rather than giving them fair chances to fight their cases in court.

Trump has said Kilmar is a member of the MS-13 gang, but Kilmar’s lawyers deny this. On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security repeated these gang accusations online.

On June 6, the Justice Department brought Kilmar back to the U.S. after charging him with being part of a group that smuggled immigrants into the country. He has pleaded not guilty to these charges. The government still plans to deport him again after his case is over. At the moment, Kilmar is being held in Tennessee while his criminal case continues.