BALTIMORE — A Maryland immigration case is attracting national and international media attention, and at the heart of it is a question: Where is home for Kilmar Abrego Garcia?

Abrego Garcia is a 29-year-old sheet metal apprentice who lived with his wife and children in Beltsville before being mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison.

He is not a U.S. citizen. Abrego Garcia is a citizen of El Salvador. But a federal immigration judge’s ruling in 2019 allowed him to live and work in the U.S. legally and prevented his removal from the United States to El Salvador.

Abrego Garcia’s removal last month, which the Trump administration described as an “administrative error,” has become a flashpoint in American politics. The fight to bring him home has reached and earned a unanimous decision from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Here’s a timeline of Abrego Garcia’s life in the U.S.

2011

•Abrego Garcia enters the U.S. illegally, “without inspection,” according the court documents. The court records don’t specify where he entered the country.

•He moves to Maryland, where his older brother, a U.S. citizen lived.Maryland is the only state Abrego Garcia has lived in since entering the U.S. illegally, according to court documents.

2016

•Abrego Garcia meets Jennifer Vasquez Sura, a U.S. citizen, and her two children from a prior relationship, according to court documents.They became romantically involved over time, the records say.

2018

•Abrego Garcia moves in with Vasquez Sura and her children after he learned she was pregnant with their child. He supported their family through his work in the construction industry.

2019

•Abrego Garcia is arrested at a Hyattsville Home Depot along with three other men on March 28, 2019. Prince George’s County police asked him if he was a gang member, and he said he was not, according to court documents.

•Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers took him into custody and the next day he was served with papers for removal proceedings.

•Abrego Garcia’s first hearing in immigration court was on April 24, 2019. His attorney argued for release. ICE opposed the change in custody, claiming local police “verified” he was an active gang member, according to court documents. When Abrego Garcia’s attorney reached out to county police for more information, the attorney was told the detective had been suspended, according to court records.

•On June 25, 2019, Abrego Garcia and Vasquez Sura were married in the Howard Detention Center while she was in her third trimester of pregnancy, court documents show.

•Abrego Garcia missed the birth of his son on Aug. 11, 2019, because he was still detained.

•In the meantime, Abrego Garcia’s lawyer petitioned to obtain any information ICE had that proved Abrego Garcia was a gang member. ICE said all of its information came from the county police description, which relied heavily on a confidential informant and the type of clothing Abrego Garcia wore, according to court records.

•On Oct. 10, 2019, an immigration judge granted asylum and a “withholding of removal” for Abrego Garcia, saying he had established gangs in El Salvador would persecute him. The judge’s order released him and allowed him to live and work in the U.S. legally.

2021

•In May 2021, Vasquez Sura filed a protective order against Abrego Garcia, claiming he “punched” her, scratched her left eye, threw her laptop on the floor, hit her with a work boot, and left her bruised and bloodied, according to court documents. She did not follow through with the civil complaint. Vasquez later told The Baltimore Sun she filed the order out of caution and that they worked through their problems in counseling.

March 2025

•On March 12, 2025, Abrego Garcia was pulled over and detained by ICE, who said his status had changed, according to court documents.

•March 15, 2025, was the last time Vasquez Sura had heard from Abrego Garcia. At the time, he said he was being held by ICE at the East Hidalgo Detention Center in La Villa, Texas, and would be deported to El Salvador.

•Shortly thereafter, Abrego Garcia was confirmed as being held at CECOT, a megaprison formally known as the Terrorism Confinement Center. Abrego Garcia was moved there despite not having a criminal record in the U.S. or El Salvador.

•On March 31, the Trump administration says Abrego Garcia was deported because of an “administrative error.”

April 2025

•A legal fight kicks off on April 4, when Judge Paula Xinis orders the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia by 11:59 p.m. April 7.

•The U.S. Justice Department appealed the order, and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals does not block the order.

•On April 7, the Justice Department appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which issued a stay to give the court time to review the case.

•The Supreme Court on April 10 told the Trump administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return and sent the case back to Xinis, asking her to clarify her order. The high court told Xinis to show deference to the Executive Branch’s management of foreign affairs and directed the government to show steps it has taken to return Abrego Garcia.

•A day later, government attorneys told Xinis they don’t have information on Abrego Garcia’s location and condition, or steps for his return. Xinis orders daily updates

•During a White House meeting on April 14, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said he’s not going to return or release Abrego Garcia.

•On April 15, Judge Xinis says the Trump administration is ignoring court orders and has done “nothing” to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S.

•Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, travels to El Salvador on April 16, trying to negotiate Abrego Garcia’s release. The country’s vice president tells him Abrego Garcia will not be released.

•Late on April 17, Van Hollen says that he had met with Abrego Garcia. Minutes before, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele posted images of the meeting and said Abrego Garcia would remain in El Salvador’s custody. Earlier in the day, Van Hollen was turned away by armed guards when he tried to visit the prison where Abrego Garcia is being held.

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