The Department of Homeland Security, in a post on X on Wednesday, showed court filings for a protective order against a man from Maryland who was wrongly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
In the court filing made by the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in May of 2021, Jennifer Vasquez Sura claimed Abrego Garcia, 29, punched and scratched her. He was also accused of ripping off her shirt, grabbing her and bruising her.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia had a history of violence and was not the upstanding “Maryland Man” the media has portrayed him as.
According to court filings, Garcia’s wife sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, claiming he punched, scratched, and ripped off her shirt, … pic.twitter.com/FpSV0k3i90
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) April 16, 2025
A case search shows the temporary protective order ended and was dismissed just over a month later, when Vasquez Sura failed to appear in court.
In a statement to WTOP provided by CASA, an advocacy group for immigrants, Vasquez Sura said after surviving domestic violence in a previous relationship, she filed for a temporary protective order “out of caution” after a disagreement with Abrego Garcia “in case things escalated.”
“Things did not escalate, and I decided not to follow through with the civil court process,” Vasquez Sura said.
She said they were able to work through the situation “privately as a family,” which included going to counseling to strengthen their marriage.
“No one is perfect, and no marriage is perfect. That is not a justification for ICE’s action of abducting him and deporting him to a country where he was supposed to be protected from deportation,” Vasquez Sura said. “Kilmar has always been a loving partner and father, and I will continue to stand by him and demand justice for him,”
The posting of the court documents comes amid a court battle over the deportation of Abrego Garcia, who was in the country under protected status since 2019 after a judge decided he would likely be targeted by other El Salvadoran gangs if sent back.
President Donald Trump’s administration admitted Abrego Garcia was deported by mistake and a district court judge ordered the administration to “facilitate” his return and that decision was supported by the Supreme Court.
The administration has said it does not have the authority to bring Abrego Garcia back and has doubled down on claims that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 street gang.
He was never charged with a crime, and lawyers for Abrego Garcia claim the Department of Justice has yet to prove Abrego Garcia’s gang ties in court.
In documents provided to WTOP, DHS claimed when Abrego Garcia was arrested from a Home Depot parking lot on March 15, he was with two other members of MS-13 and had marijuana and rolls of cash on his person. The agency also claimed he “freely admitted” to being in the United States illegally.
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