By Democrats couldn’t help but walk into a trap laid by Donald Trump. The Department of Justice has released new documents confirming that Kilmar Garcia, a Salvadoran national deported earlier this year, had verified ties to the violent gang MS-13. The disclosure adds weight to long-standing concerns and raises fresh questions about a 2022 FBI decision not to detain him, even after suspicions of human trafficking and possible links to individuals on a terrorist watch list.
The disclosure comes as Democrats have raced down to El Salvador in a publicity stunt. “Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is in El Salvador to get answers about the wrongful deportation of a Maryland migrant by President Donald Trump’s administration, he said in a video before boarding a flight on Wednesday,” wrote ABC News. “The Democratic senator said he had been planning the trip for the last few days and that he hopes to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in person and see his condition.”
Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. illegally in 2011 and was deported in March 2025 after an immigration court concluded he posed a threat to public safety, according to the new information. A 2019 ruling by the Board of Immigration Appeals upheld that determination, citing credible evidence of gang involvement. The newly released DOJ materials include testimony from a reliable informant, gang-related clothing, and court documents, including a domestic violence restraining order filed by his wife. Officials also linked him to the gang alias “Chele” and a mid-level leadership rank within MS-13’s “Westerns” clique.
Despite Abrego Garcia’s repeated denials, federal authorities have steadily built their case. He was arrested in Maryland in 2019 wearing attire associated with MS-13, and informants placed him within the gang’s internal structure. Immigration judges determined that he failed to demonstrate he was not a danger to the community.
A pivotal moment occurred in December 2022, when Tennessee state troopers stopped a vehicle Abrego Garcia was driving. He was transporting seven passengers, lacked a valid driver’s license, and sparked immediate concern about human trafficking. According to reporting from The Tennessee Star, at least one passenger may have appeared on a terrorist watch list. Yet, the FBI instructed troopers not to make arrests, telling them instead to take photographs of the individuals and the vehicle before releasing them.
The FBI’s handling of that traffic stop—under Director Christopher Wray—has since come under fire from Republican lawmakers, who argue the bureau ignored clear warning signs.
The connections to MS-13 wasn’t the only disturbing new piece of information released. Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s wife testified that he beat her while she was hold their child and “the baby started to cry because he was putting pressure on him, my immediate reaction was to push him off us and then he punched.”
NEW: @FoxNews has obtained the written domestic violence allegations from Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s wife in 2021, in which she alleges he is a repeat wife beater & writes “At this point, I am afraid to be close to him. I have multiple photos/videos of how violent he can be and all… pic.twitter.com/s7yCji9jjq
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 16, 2025
The DOJ’s latest release further complicates that effort. With its strongest public case yet for Abrego Garcia’s gang affiliation, the department has likely closed the door on any political or legal momentum to bring him back.
The case has become a flashpoint in broader debates over immigration, law enforcement accountability, and national security—highlighting how each element can collide in high-profile deportation battles, but it has also become another instance of Democrats siding with the 20 percent on an 80-20 issue.
It should be noted that while Democrats are scrambling to get to El Salvador as fast as they can for an undocumented immigrant and likely gang member, the same senators have done little to promote the release of the five Americans still being held by Hamas.
BBC noted earlier in the week that Hamas said it “lost contact” with a “group of fighters holding an Israeli-American hostage captive in Gaza following an Israeli strike on their location.
The 21-year-old soldier, Edan Alexander, has appeared in videos released by the group in recent days.
Israel had asked for him to be released on day one of a new 45-day ceasefire proposal put forward last week which has been rejected by Hamas.
Hamas on Tuesday did not indicate when contact had been lost and has not produced any evidence for their claim. Israel regularly asserts it avoids hitting locations where it believes hostages are being held.”
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