Trump’s Case Against Man Deported in “Error” Just Took Another Big Hit

Abrego Garcia was not charged with a crime, and on the basis of his undocumented status was transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which moved to deport him. Abrego Garcia sought asylum, and during those proceedings, ICE claimed Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13.

To support this claim, ICE relied on what’s known as a Gang Field Interview Sheet, supplied by the Prince George’s County police. It claimed that Abrego Garcia wore a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie, that this was evidence of membership in MS-13, and that a “confidential source” had related that he was a member of the gang’s Westerns clique. But that operates in New York, where he never lived.

In the 2019 proceedings, an immigration judge ultimately granted Abrego Garcia “withholding of removal,” which barred his transfer to El Salvador on grounds that he’d face harm there. This is the status the Trump administration knowingly ignored by deporting him to that country in March, which the Supreme Court has now declared “illegal.” (The administration claims it has no obligation to return him, a case that falls apart under scrutiny.)