Immigrant rights advocates and elected officials are calling for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 30-year-old father and longtime Maryland resident taken into ICE custody Monday after showing up for a scheduled immigration appointment in Baltimore.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, is married with children and has lived in the state for years. The U.S. government mistakenly deported him to El Salvador in March and after a drawn out legal battle, he was returned to the U.S. to fight his case.
Supporters contend his re-arrest is retaliatory.
His legal team says the government offered him a deal last week: plead guilty to federal charges, serve time in Costa Rica, and accept limited safety assurances. When he refused, they say ICE threatened to deport him to Uganda — a country he has no connection to.
“For him to be removed to Costa Rica is not justice,” said his attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg. “It is an acceptably less bad option. For them to insist on fighting out a deportation to Uganda shows that the real motive is not getting him out of the country, it’s punishing him and keeping him locked up.”
Sandoval-Moshenberg said ICE detained Abrego Garcia within a minute of his arrival to the sixth floor of the George Fallon Federal Building. He added that immigration officials haven’t disclosed where he is being held.
Elected officials including Gov. Wes Moore and U.S. Sens. Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen have expressed support. Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., was among those at Monday’s rally.
“He should be in his house this morning,” Ivey said, “not worried about getting deported anywhere… not worried about the pressure and the vengeance of the Justice Department and the Trump administration.”
Lydia Walther Rodriguez, chief of organizing and leadership with CASA, said elected officials must not look away.
“We believe that this public pressure is so important,” Rodriguez said. “We are calling out to all legislators — local, statewide, and national — to stand with Kilmar. Stand with Kilmar’s family, and every Kilmar whose story has not yet been told.”
Former DHS official Andrea Flores called the case part of a wider pattern.
“They are making an example and attempting to scare every immigrant in this country to self-deport by showing the full force and weight of the federal government,” she said.
Before checking in, Abrego Garcia addressed a crowd of hundreds outside the federal building. Speaking through a translator, he urged them to keep fighting.
“Promise me that you will continue to pray, continue to fight, resist and love, not just for me, but for everybody,” he said. “Continue to demand freedom.”
But the Trump administration sees things differently.
On X, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the president “will not allow Abrego to terrorize the American people.”
