The Department of Justice has released a document in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador.
The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13 and recently included an allegation, without providing evidence, that the 29-year-old was also involved in human trafficking. But in court documents examined by News4, the only allegation Abrego Garcia was in a gang came from one Prince George’s County police officer who was later fired for misconduct in office.
The released document is the final order from an immigration judge issued Oct. 10, 2019 giving Abrego Garcia the legal status to remain in the United States.
On page two at the bottom, it says, “Exhibit 4 is a Prince George’s County Police Department Gang field interview sheet. It was issued for the limited purpose of showing that the respondent was labeled a gang member by law enforcement.”
The attorney who represented Abrego Garcia in that proceeding said it was written by officer Ivan Mendez, who claimed a confidential source came forward to say Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13.
In fact, in a document denying Abrego Garcia bail the first time on april 29 2019, a different immigration judge wrote, “the determination that the respondent is a gang member appears to be trustworthy and is supported by other evidence in the record, namely information contained in the gang field interview sheet.”
That “sheet” was released today by the Department of Justice and says when officers stopped Abrego Garcia, he was with two known members of MS-13 and a third man suspected of being in the gang.
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The documents says Abrego Garcia was wearing “a Chicago Bulls hat and a hoodie with rolls of money covering the eyes, ears and mouth of the presidents on the separate denominations. … Wearing the Chicago Bulls hat represents they are a member in good standing with the MS-13. Officers contacted a past proven and reliable source of information, who advised Kilmar Armando ABREGO-GARCIA is an active member of MS-13 with the Western Clique.”
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys say the Western Clique is in New York, where the 29-year-old has never lived.
When Prince George’s County police stopped Abrego Garcia back on March 28, 2019, he was standing in a parking lot with three other men. He was looking for work, and according to the attorney who represented him back then, the officer who stopped him was suspended four days later and accused of misconduct in office.
In a statement to News4 Lucia Curiel, the attorney who represented Abrego Garcia at his immigration hearings, said, “At Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s immigration court hearing, the ICE attorney stated to the judge that the only ‘intel’ they had on him was in fact that ‘intel’ from the PG gang unit officer. They had nothing else and the PG officer responsible for the allegations was later fired.”
News4 attempted on Wednesday to speak with Mendez, who was fired from the force in December 2022 after online court records show he pleaded guilty to one count of misconduct in office — a charge that had nothing to do with the arrest of Abrego Garcia. Mendez was accused of providing confidential information to a sex worker, but there was no answer at his Maryland home, and he did not return a call or respond to text messages.
So far, the Trump administration has not provided any documented evidence that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13. He has repeatedly denied being a member of a gang and has no criminal record in the U.S. or El Salvador.
