The anti-borders movement has found its new cause célèbre and he is Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 gang member who the Trump Administration recently and justifiably deported to his home country of El Salvador.
After a District Court judge ordered the government to retrieve Abrego Garcia from El Salvador—citing due process concerns—protests over his deportation erupted across the country as anti-borders activists and politicians decided to make Abrego Garcia the poster boy for their cause. Headlines blared across the corporate media depicting Abrego Garcia as a “Maryland man,” a loving father and husband cruelly deported by the Trump Administration. Left-wing activists claimed this supposedly innocent man had been disappeared into a barbaric El Salvador prison for no legitimate reason.
Anti-borders politicians have been making pilgrimages to El Salvador to tout Abrego Garcia’s cause, with Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen being the first to meet with a seemingly healthy and well-fed Abrego Garcia over margaritas. Several more members of Congress traveled to El Salvador following Van Hollen’s visit to demand Abrego Garcia’s repatriation to the U.S. Despite the crocodile tears from the anti-borders crowd, an examination of Abrego Garcia’s history demonstrates why his deportation was justified and necessary.
First and foremost, Abrego Garcia is a citizen of El Salvador who illegally crossed the U.S. border in 2012. Since then, two immigration courts have found him to be a member of MS-13, a violent, transnational gang, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. It’s true—as Abrego Garcia’s defenders are quick to point out—that he has not been convicted of any crime related to MS-13 gang activity, but an examination of the evidence suggests a clear link between Abrego Garcia and MS-13.
On Abrego Garcia’s knuckles there are four tattoos that suggest a link to the gang. The first one is a marijuana leaf, which the government has suggested stands for the letter “M,” the second is a smiley face, indicating the letter “S,” the following knuckle contains a tattoo of a cross indicating the number “1,” and the final tattoo contains three dots on a skull indicating the number “3.” While it is not certain, there is good reason to believe these tattoos are a reference to MS-13.
In addition to the tattoos, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin reported on X that when Abrego Garcia was arrested, he was found with rolls of cash and drugs. He was arrested with two members of MS-13, and was wearing what is effectively an MS-13 uniform. Does that seem to be an odd series of coincidences for a man with allegedly no connection to MS-13?
Adding to the suspicion is the fact that Abrego Garcia’s wife posted heart emojis to cover the tattoos in the photo used for the couple’s GoFundMe page. Then there’s the matter of Abrego Garcia’s alleged violent behavior towards his wife.
As the controversy over Abrego Garcia’s status flared up, the Department of Homeland Security released damning information about the illegal alien. Specifically, that Abrego Garcia’s wife filed a restraining order against him in 2021, alleging that he assaulted her and left her bleeding. All of this is quite different than the rosy picture painted by the anti-borders movement and their allies in Congress and the media.
Like any person accused of a crime, Abrego Garcia is entitled to the presumption of innocence. Nobody is questioning Abrego Garcia’s right to due process for any criminal allegations made against him. What people are questioning is why it makes sense for the U.S. to allow an alleged illegal alien alleged domestic abuser who has been credibly linked to MS-13 to remain in the country. That Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. illegally is enough to justify his removal. That he has been linked to MS-13 and accused of domestic violence made his removal urgent.
Abrego Garcia’s supporters will point to a 2019 order preventing his deportation back to El Salvador meant to protect him from gang violence. However, the problems of gang violence which persisted in El Salvador for so long are now essentially non-existent thanks to the crackdown on crime spearheaded by President Nayib Bukele.
El Salvador is now one of the safest countries in the Western Hemisphere, far safer than Prince George’s County in Maryland, where Abrego Garcia had settled since illegally entering the U.S. nearly fifteen years ago. Abrego Garcia’s supporters will also claim indignation over his imprisonment in El Salvador, but this is fundamentally a dispute between him and his home country, not the U.S. El Salvador has jurisdiction over their citizens and has made clear they do not intend to return him to the U.S. That should be the end of the story, but for the anti-borders’ movement, their fight to turn Abrego Garcia into a martyr will certainly persist.
Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia is not entitled to live in the U.S., and everything about his background shows the U.S. is better off without him. His deportation is not a threat to the rule of law, but the proper enforcement of it.
William J. Davis is a communications associate for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, a public interest law firm working to defend the rights and interests of the American people from the negative effects of mass migration.