Posted 4/3/2025

In March of 2025, during an immigration crackdown, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported to his home country of El Salvador and eventually sent to a notorious mega-prison called CECOT. CECOT (Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo), or The Terrorism Confinement Center, is a maximum security facility in Tecoluca, El Salvador, and the largest prison in Latin America, capable of housing 40,000 inmates. No prisoner has ever been released from CECOT.

Garcia made his way to the United States illegally at age 16 back in 2012. For 14 years, Garcia is said to have worked construction, gotten married, and raised 3 children.

In 2019, police in Hyattsville, Maryland, identified Abrego Garcia as a member of the gang MS-13 based on his tattoos. MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha 13, is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California. Member initiation can include murder. President Trump signed an executive order in January of 2025 declaring MS-13, among other gangs, Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The MS-13 gang gained notoriety primarily for their violence but are also known for drug trafficking, having formed an alliance with the Sinaloa Cartel and others. This gang also dabbles in human trafficking, weapons trafficking, murder, rape, assault, kidnapping, fraud, prostitution, robbery, extortion, and vandalism. President Trump doubled down on his beliefs that Garcia is a gang member. In 2021, Garcia's wife Jennifer filed for a protective order against him, alleging that he attacked her... Click Here.

The judge that presided over the 2019 case said that there was sufficient evidence to support Garcia's gang membership, and that finding was upheld by another judge. Garcia was granted a withholding of removal order for fears that he faces persecution from a rival gang, Barrio 18. His protective status was rescinded due to his suspected gang ties.

Mohsen Mahdawi was released after being arrested by ICE and held for two weeks. Mahdawi was arrested at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Vermont, where he was trying to finalize the process to become a United States citizen. ICE seems to be ramping up their efforts, and they have established a hotline to report suspicious activity or other investigative tips related to immigration enforcement... 1-866-DHS-2-ICE