New Document Emerges In Case Of MD's Kilmar Abrego Garcia

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — The wife of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador last month filed a restraining order against him in 2021 over allegations of domestic violence, according to a document released Wednesday.

The document was shared by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security just hours after Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen flew to El Salvador to meet with officials and check on the condition of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Beltsville resident who was removed from the United States on March 15 as part of President Donald Trump's sweeping deportation efforts.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Jennifer Vasquez Sura sought a temporary protective order against Abrego Garcia, "claiming he punched, scratched, and ripped off her shirt."

Prince George's County court records show the order was granted in May 2021, but according to court records obtained by CBS News, it was dismissed a month later after Vasquez failed to appear for a final hearing.

In a statement provided to CBS News Wednesday evening, Vasquez confirmed seeking the court order.

"After surviving domestic violence in a previous relationship, I acted out of caution after a disagreement with Kilmar by seeking a civil protective order in case things escalated," Vasquez said. "Things did not escalate, and I decided not to follow through with the civil court process. We were able to work through this situation privately as a family, including by going to counseling. Our marriage only grew stronger in the years that followed."

She also said the order does not justify his deportation.

"Kilmar has always been a loving partner and father, and I will continue to stand by him and demand justice for him," she said.

Who Is Kilmar Abrego Garcia?

The deportation of Abrego Garcia, who is married to a U.S. citizen, has become a national flashpoint as President Donald Trump follows up on his campaign promises of mass deportations.

According to his attorneys, Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador when he was 16 years old to escape gang violence. He was arrested in March 2019 while soliciting work outside a Home Depot, and he was later ordered deported after a confidential informant told police he was a member of the MS-13 gang.

Abrego Garcia appealed the claim and was eventually granted “withholding from removal” status in October 2019 by an immigration judge, according to court documents.

On March 12, Abrego Garcia was pulled over by ICE officers after picking up his son from daycare. The officer told Abrego Garcia that his "status had changed" before placing him in handcuffs and detaining him, according to court documents.

Three days later, Abrego Garcia was taken to the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador, according to court documents, which activists say is rife with abuses and where inmates are packed into cells and never allowed outside.

Trump officials later described the mistake as “an administrative error” but insisted that Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13 in the United States.

Abrego Garcia was never charged with a crime and has denied the allegations, which include being a member of MS-13 in Long Island, New York, where he has never lived.

His wife and his 5-year-old child, both of whom are U.S. citizens, filed a lawsuit on March 24 calling for his return.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis previously ordered the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia to the country. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed that the U.S. government must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release.

But the White House has balked at trying to broker his return, arguing the courts can’t intrude on the president’s diplomatic powers.

Concern Grows Among Dems, White House Digs In

During his visit Wednesday, Sen. Van Hollen met with Salvadoran officials, who denied his request to visit Abrego Garcia. Officials said Van Hollen should have provided more advance notice before visiting the country.

When Van Hollen asked if he could return to El Salvador next week, he was told no, the senator said.

“We have an unjust situation here,” Van Hollen told reporters.

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, the No. 4 Senate Democrat, is also organizing a trip to the country, according to a Politico report. Meanwhile, other House Democrats are expressing interest in traveling to El Salvador to conduct a "welfare check."

“We are prepared to travel as soon as possible. We would gladly include any Republican Members of the Committee who wish to participate,” Democratic Reps. Maxwell Frost of Florida and Robert Garcia of California wrote Tuesday in a letter to House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY).

Meanwhile, Trump officials reiterated Wednesday that Abrego Garvia would not be returned to the United States. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt held a press briefing with the mother of Rachel Morin, a Maryland woman who was killed by a fugitive from El Salvador in 2023.

“It’s appalling and sad that Sen. Van Hollen and the Democrats applauding his trip to El Salvador today are incapable of having any shred of common sense or empathy for their own constituents and our citizens," Leavitt said at the briefing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.