Kilmar's illegal deportation and imprisonment should concern us all.
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
What happened? Even if you’re not in the weeds of immigration stuff, you’ve likely heard about Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Kilmar was born in El Salvador and fled his homeland when he was 16. His mother ran a small business selling pupusas, and a local, dangerous gang started targeting her family. They gave her two choices: pay them a lot of money, or give them her oldest son to join the gang. She hid her son (Kilmar’s older brother), and he was able to get to the U.S., so they began targeting 12-year-old Kilmar. After four years, Kilmar made the journey to the U.S., too. Kilmar would eventually apply for asylum in the United States, where he met his wife, Jennifer, and is the father of a five-year-old and the stepfather of two more, all kiddos with special needs.
Kilmar waited too long to apply for asylum (you have one year), so when he went before an immigration judge in 2019, the judge issued Kilmar a “withholding of removal.” This meant he could not be deported back to El Salvador, because it was more likely than not that he would be targeted by gangs there. Fast forward to last month. He had just picked up his stepson from his grandmother’s house when ICE stopped him and told him his immigration status had changed (it had not). He was taken by ICE, moved to a detention facility in Texas, and then later to one of the most dangerous and inhumane prisons in the world — CECOT.1 Where is the prison? In his home country of El Salvador, the country a judge specifically ruled he could not be sent to.
The Trump administration has admitted it was an error to send him there. They claimed he’s a member of a violent gang based on the fact that he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat. I don’t need to explain that being a fan of one of the most popular sports franchises does not mean you’re a gang member. The government has provided no evidence that he has gang affiliations. Multiple judges have ruled he needs to be returned to the United States. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the lower court was correct. The Trump administration must “‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.” The administration has still not complied and is in defiance of the Supreme Court. Our President took a meeting with the President of El Salvador, and they both basically washed their hands of the situation, saying there’s nothing they can do. This is not true. The President could get him home, and is choosing not to. Furthermore, and I don’t know a gentler way to say this, but our government is just lying about Kilmar on our government websites, even comparing him to Osama Bin Laden. I don’t want to be an alarmist person, and have tried to be very measured in these notes, but it is an extremely scary thing to see our government make no effort to get Kilmar out of this terrifying prison, to continue to send more people there, and to even is discussing sending American citizens there.
How can I pray? Pray for Kilmar. Draw close to him in these unimaginable conditions. Pray for the others imprisoned with him. Pray for his wife Jennifer and for their children. Pray for our President and for the President of El Salvador, that their hearts will be softened. Pray for those also experiencing injustices in our immigration system whose names we don’t know. Pray that you will receive wisdom and courage from the Holy Spirit, that we will know how to advocate effectively in these times.
What is one more thing I can do? This is one to make noise about, friends. Even if you don’t usually post about current events on your social media, share something about Kilmar’s story. It’s not that I think an Instagram story will bring Kilmar home, but these shares are small public reminders that this is not normal, and this is not OK, and America only remains free if there is due process2 for all. If Kilmar has been sent away without a trial, and our President wishes that he could send American citizens there, too, it’s not just Kilmar you’re speaking up for, it’s all of us!
For Kilmar specifically, please use this tool to send a letter to your elected officials. It was put together by the colleagues in Kilmar’s union. Be sure to customize the letter to your own circumstances. You can also offer financial support to his wife and kids here.3
Due process means that people have the right to fair treatment through the justice system. (It’s why we’re not suppposed to be sentenced to prison without a trial.)
These words from Kilmar’s wife Jennifer were so painful to read: "Kilmar is an excellent father. He has always been there for our three children and all of their needs. Two of them are on the autism spectrum (ages five and nine), and our third has epilepsy (age 10). Kilmar has been the main provider of our household and the love of my life for over seven years. Since our family has been separated, I have been devastated and confused. I lost my life partner, my children lost their father, and all of our family, neighbors, co-workers, and friends have been devastated “due to this unjust family separation.”
There's no doubt we are at a critical point. All lives are supposed to matter and this cannot stand. For me, this goes beyond writing and calling legislators. Public pressure needs to be maximized. I am planning to peaceably march in every protest in my area. Pramila Jayapal is holding resistance trainings on zoom. I was really inspired by her discussion of all the times in history peaceful protest has been successful in freeing people. Free Kilmar.
Thank you so much for this. There's nothing like clear directions on what to do! <3 I edited the sample letter pretty heavily, made it sound more "grandmotherly" and also told our reps that this situation, and rescuing Mr Garcia from El Salvador, might looked like a job for Rambo -- but as things stand the job is theirs, so get moving!
I also shared the letter-writing page on Facebook a few hours ago and already have commitments for 3 more letters! And I've saved all this info to a Word doc for future reference -- hoping Mr Garcia will be home soon and the info won't be needed.
Lord, bring him home.