The wife of deported Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia defended her husband after reports emerged that she filed a domestic violence restraining order against him in 2021.
Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant, was deported to a megaprison in El Salvador last month, a move the Justice Department said in a court filing was an “administrative error,” as he had a “withholding order” preventing him from being deported to El Salvador over fear of future prosecution by a gang.
The Department of Homeland Security posted the 2021 court documents claiming Jennifer Vasquez Sura “sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, claiming he punched, scratched, and ripped off her shirt, among other harm.”
Responding to the release of the documents, Sura said she “acted out of caution following a disagreement with Kilmar by seeking a civil protective order, in case things escalated” in a statement to Newsweek.
“Things did not escalate, and I decided not to follow through with the civil court process. We were able to work through the situation privately as a family, including by going to counseling,” Sura said.
“Our marriage only grew stronger in the years that followed. No one is perfect, and no marriage is perfect. But that is not a justification for ICE’s action of abducting him and deporting him to a country where he was supposed to be protected from removal. Kilmar has always been a loving partner and father, and I will continue to stand by him and demand justice for him,” she added.
Sura has been one of the leading voices calling for her husband to be returned to the United States from El Salvador.
DHS has claimed Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, which has been designated as a terrorist group by the federal government. The agency released additional information on Abrego Garcia, including evidence to back up their claim that he was a suspected gang member. Prior to his deportation last month, Abrego Garcia had been residing in Maryland.
He still has a deportation order and did not have legal permission to remain in the U.S., per court filings. The “withholding order” in place only prevents him from being deported back to El Salvador.
The Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that the federal government must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. and continue with his deportation case “as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.” The ruling largely upheld a lower federal court’s ruling calling for government officials to do what they could to have Abrego Garcia returned to the U.S.
The Justice Department and a federal judge have sparred over the definition of what it means to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return, as government officials have said he is no longer in the U.S.’s jurisdiction and their capabilities are limited.
DHS PUBLICLY RELEASES RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA TO SHOW ‘HISTORY OF VIOLENCE’
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele called it “preposterous” for him to return Abrego Garcia from the country’s custody back to the U.S. while meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House earlier this week.
“The question is preposterous,” Bukele said on Monday. “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don’t have the power to return him to the United States.”
