Who is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man US ‘mistakenly’ deported and El Salvador refuses to send back

Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s journey began in El Salvador like that of any ordinary man, and fate seemed to favour him when he illegally entered the United States. He went on to live there for 14 years, worked as a construction worker, built a life, got married, and raised children—until the Trump administration deported him back to El Salvador, only to later realise the removal was an ‘administrative error’. Now, a new challenge has emerged: El Salvador is refusing to send him back.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia's case--among the thousands of deportees--has caught attention of the world as he fights to return to his life in the United States. But fighting this war against the orders of two of the world's powerful men – Donald Trump and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele – is a battle that he has to face alone.

Locked in a mega prison ‘CECOT’ in El Salvador, Kilman Abrego Garcia is now caught between two nations unwilling to take responsibility for a “mistake” that has upended his life.

Who is Kilmar Abrego Garcia and why is world talking about him?

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a 29-year-old man who has lived in the United States for roughly 14 years. He entered America illegally in 2011. For years, he worked in construction and started his life.

In 2019, when his case was heard, an immigration judge ruled that he could not be sent back to El Salvador based on the evidence that he faced threats from some gang members.

The judge found that a gang in El Salvador was “targeting him and threatening him with death because of his family’s pupusa business.”

But he could be deported to another country.

In March this year, Trump officials arrested him based on a 2019 accusation that he was an MS-13 gang member after “reliable sources” confirmed this accusation.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was put on a plane and sent to El Salvador, despite the 2019 ruling.

Now, the Trump administration has described his case as “an administrative error”.

In late March, Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his family filed a lawsuit against several officials from the Trump administration, seeking his return. US District Judge Paula Xinis also ruled that his deportation to El Salvador was “an illegal act”, directing the Trump administration to have him returned by March 31.

“If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back, I would do that. I respect the Supreme Court," Donald Trump said.

But El Salvador won't send him back: Here's why

El Salvador President Bukele, who met Donald Trump at the White House, said he had no plans to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia. He suggested that if he is sent back to the US, it would be like smuggling a terrorist back into the country.

“The question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don't have the power to return him to the US,” Bukele said.

(With agency inputs)