They knew he wasn’t the right person. They deported him anyway. And now he’s locked in a prison described as “hell on Earth.”
The Trump administration is under fire after a shocking series of immigration documents revealed that federal officials deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia — a legal U.S. resident — to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT supermax prison, despite acknowledging that he wasn’t the suspect they were looking for. The error, first uncovered by a joint AP and ProPublica investigation, is now sparking outrage among legal scholars, human rights groups, and members of Congress who call it “a state-orchestrated kidnapping.”
According to the report, Garcia, then just 19, had been granted protection from deportation under a court order. But that didn’t stop ICE agents from arresting him during a late-night raid in Maryland — a sweep that targeted alleged MS-13 affiliates. Garcia, who has no criminal record, was confused with another individual sharing a similar name. Internal memos reviewed by reporters show ICE supervisors realized the mistake before his removal — but approved it anyway, calling it “non-critical.”
The teen was flown to San Salvador and transferred to the CECOT facility, a massive, high-security complex President Nayib Bukele has openly described as “a warehouse for monsters.” The prison has been condemned by multiple human rights watchdogs for overcrowding, torture, and its lack of medical care. The Human Rights Watch report labeled it “a black hole of international law.”
What followed inside the prison walls was a nightmare. Garcia was reportedly beaten within 48 hours of arrival, denied phone calls, and kept in a shared cell with over 100 inmates. His family only learned of his deportation two weeks later when a letter, smuggled from inside the prison, reached a community church in Maryland. The note said simply, “They sent me where people die.”
A legal appeal has since been filed to reverse the deportation, but progress has stalled. El Salvador refuses to release Garcia, with President Bukele posting on X that “gang ties don’t disappear just because Americans get nervous.” The U.S. State Department has yet to publicly address the case.
In a Reddit thread with over 12,000 upvotes, users expressed disbelief at the government’s apparent indifference. “They knew. They admitted it. And still, they sent him to die,” one user wrote. Others called it “a terrifying look at what unchecked government power can do.”
Garcia’s mother, who spoke in a tearful interview with Univision, said ICE never notified her of her son’s arrest or removal. “He was my baby,” she cried. “They took him like garbage.” Her plea has since been echoed by immigration lawyers nationwide, who argue this is the clearest example yet of how administrative errors can become life-or-death decisions when driven by politics.
Even conservative outlets have begun to question the deportation. A New York Post editorial asked whether the administration was “knowingly circumventing court orders,” while a panel on CNN described the incident as “morally indefensible.”
With Garcia still detained in a cell thousands of miles away, legal experts say time is running out. The teen’s lawyers warn that medical conditions inside the prison are deteriorating, and one warned, “If we wait, he won’t come home. He’ll come back in a box.”
The case is now part of a larger class action lawsuit filed against the Department of Homeland Security and several top Trump-era officials. It could redefine how U.S. agencies are held accountable for mistakes — especially when those mistakes land a teenager in a foreign prison with no exit.
“It’s not just a failure of paperwork,” one advocate said. “It’s a failure of humanity.”
