Kilmar Abrego Garcia and the Deep Immigration Divide -

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, age 30, has become the center of immigration controversy. His case highlights deep divisions over asylum, deportation, and U.S. immigration enforcement. The left has embraced him as a victim. But his record tells a very different story.

Refusing Deportation Deals

Abrego Garcia had options. Immigration officials offered him a deal: remain in jail, accept deportation to Costa Rica, and plead guilty to human smuggling. He refused.

BREAKING NEWS: Immigration officials said they intend to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda, after he declined an offer to be deported to Costa Rica in exchange for remaining in jail and pleading guilty to human smuggling charges. pic.twitter.com/CctJFocRib

— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) August 23, 2025

Why Costa Rica? Because a federal immigration judge had already ruled he could not be deported to his home country of El Salvador. The judge determined it was unsafe for him there due to gang violence. That decision forced the U.S. government to find third countries willing to accept him. Costa Rica was one option. Uganda became another. (RELATED POST: New Census Will Omit Illegal Immigrants)

But instead of taking the deal, Abrego Garcia gambled. He rejected Costa Rica, pushed asylum claims in U.S. courts, and now finds himself trapped in legal limbo.

Seeking Asylum in the U.S.

This week, his attorneys requested asylum in the United States to stop his deportation to Uganda. The East African country recently agreed to accept illegal immigrants from the U.S. That move gave the Trump administration another option for relocation.

But here’s the problem: Abrego Garcia already lost an asylum case in 2019. Back then, he filed too late. Immigration law requires that applications be submitted within one year of arrival. He came to the U.S. in 2012 at age 16 and waited years to apply. A judge denied it.

Despite that denial, his lawyers are back in court. They filed a lawsuit before U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland. She admitted she has no jurisdiction over immigration. But she did order that Abrego Garcia cannot be removed before an October hearing. He remains in detention in Virginia, within 200 miles of her court, so he can meet with his attorneys.

Criminal Allegations and MS-13 Ties

In 2019, the Prince George County Police Gang Unit identified Abrego Garcia as a member of MS-13. He was arrested outside a Home Depot with two other MS-13 gang members. He denies membership, but his record raises questions. A tip suggested he was affiliated with the dangerous gang. He was arrested with rolls of cash and drugs.

The evidence against him has piled up.

In 2022, Tennessee police stopped him for speeding. Body cam footage showed nine passengers in the car. They all listed the same address. He carried $1,400 in cash and no one had luggage. Authorities suspected human smuggling.

According to Attorney General Pam Bondi a federal grand jury indicted him in 2025 for conspiracy to transport illegal immigrants through Mexico into Texas. The indictment claimed this was his full-time work. They said he used altered vehicles with hidden compartments. Guns, narcotics, women, and children were involved.

🚨 #BREAKING: Pam Bondi officially announces Kilmar Abrego Garcia will be returned to the US after the DOJ uncovered he made OVER 100 SMUGGLING TRIPS of illegals

A grand jury found human trafficking was Garcia’s FULL TIME JOB, and he frequently ABUSED women.

THIS IS THE… pic.twitter.com/MHbmJ4PpnX

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 6, 2025

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem also did not mince words this week. She called him an “MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, wife beater, child predator, criminal illegal alien.”

A Pattern of Abuse

The personal side of Abrego Garcia’s story is no cleaner. Court documents reveal that his wife, Jennifer Vasquez, filed for a protection order in 2021. She accused him of punching her, scratching her, and tearing off her shirt. Federal filings also allege he solicited explicit photos and videos of a minor beginning in 2020.

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

Playing the Legal System

Despite this record, his attorneys frame him as a victim of Trump’s “mass deportations.” They argue he fears death at the hands of gangs in El Salvador. Yet that claim only arose after he allegedly participated in the murder of a rival gang member’s mother.

The courts have repeatedly bent to keep him in the U.S. In March, he was deported to El Salvador. His wife sued. The Trump administration brought him back in June, only to charge him with federal smuggling. Now he is attempting asylum yet again. (MORE NEWS: Kimmel’s Italian Citizenship: Turning Away From America)

Why the Left Defends Him

Why does this man matter so much to the left? The answer is politics. He represents their narrative against President Trump. They see him as a living example of what they call “cruel” deportation policies. They even traveled to El Salvador to meet with him and push for his release.

Final Word

Abrego Garcia has lived in the United States for 13 years. In all that time, he never pursued legal citizenship. He never showed commitment to the laws of this nation. Instead, he chose shortcuts and excuses. Being American is not about having kids in this country, working a job that may or may not “contribute to society,” or appearing at court dates. It is about personal responsibility. It is about respect for the laws that create order and safety.

You cannot claim love for America while ignoring its laws. You cannot demand rights while refusing to fulfill your duty to handle your business. And you cannot expect sympathy while engaging in crime.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is not a victim, although he likes to play one on TV. He is a man with a long record of bad choices, criminal charges, and refusals to comply with immigration law. The left has propped him up as a symbol. But in reality, he is the worst example they could choose.

America deserves better from its immigration debate. Real reform should focus on lawful applicants, hardworking families, and those who want to embrace American values. Not on a man accused of smuggling, violence, and gang ties.