Vice President J.D Vance is doubling down on the Trump administration sending a Maryland father with protected legal status to El Salvador, even though the administration’s attorneys admitted in court that they made a mistake.
An ICE official admitted in a sworn declaration on Monday that officials had made an “administrative error” that resulted in the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia–a Maryland father who is married to an American citizen and has protected legal status–to a prison in El Salvador.
Trump lawyers also told the court that since Abrego-Garcia is in Salvadoran custody they are unable to bring him back home because US courts lack jurisdiction.
Yet, Vance defended the deportation of Abrego-Garcia in a post on X, saying it is “gross to get fired up” about his case and argued – without offering evidence – that he had “no legal right to be here”.
“My comment is that according to the court document you apparently didn’t read he was a convicted MS-13 gang member with no legal right to be here,” Vance wrote in response “Pod Save America” host Jon Favreau asking for comment on the case. “My further comment is that it’s gross to get fired up about gang members getting deported while ignoring citizens they victimize.”
Abrego-Garcia came to the U.S. at age 16 in 2011 after fleeing gang violence in El Salvador. He was detained by ICE in March over his alleged affiliation with the gang MS-13.
According to his attorneys, Abrego-Garcia’s suspected affiliation to MS-13 came from a 2019 incident when an informant made the claim he was linked to gangs. Abrego-Garcia had already filed for asylum, and a judge had granted him “withholding of removal to El Salvador,” a form of protested status, after ruling that he could be targeted by gangs if he is deported.
Abrego-Garcia’s attorneys said that he denied he was a member of any “criminal or street gang” and that the US government “has never produced an iota of evidence to support this unfounded accusation”.
