A Salvadoran migrant released from federal custody last week issued a scathing two-word insult to President Donald Trump as he was hauled off by ICE agents yet again.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, was detained by immigration officials in Maryland on Monday, just days after he was reunited with his family following his mistaken deportation to El Salvador.
Video captured Abrego Garcia, who the Trump administration alleges is an MS-13 ‘gangbanger’, shackled by his hands and feet as he was led through the ICE field office in Baltimore.
In the footage, Abrego Garcia is seen looking directly at the camera as he utters the words ‘corrupt government’ in Spanish.
The clip, posted by the Department of Homeland Security on X, was captioned: ‘He doesn’t belong here. He won’t be staying here.
‘America is a safer nation without this MS-13 Gangbanger in it. Good riddance,’ the agency added.
Abrego Garcia’s detention on Monday came during a routine immigration check-in, which was part of the conditions of his release from federal custody.
But, despite being back in ICE custody, a judge ruled later on Monday that he cannot be deported for now. He is being held in a detention center in Virginia, his attorney said.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, uttered the two-word insult in Spanish as he was detained by ICE officers on Monday in Baltimore, Maryland
Abrego Garcia seen entering the ICE field office Monday. His subsequent arrest was triggered after an immigration check-in, but a judge later ruled he cannot be deported for now
In a statement reported by the Baltimore Banner, Abrego Garcia said he was glad to have been able to briefly unite with his loved ones.
‘Today has been a very special day because I have seen my family for the first time in more than 160 days. I’d like to thank all the people who have supported me because after this long time I have witnessed that so many people have been by my side with such positivity,’ he said.
‘I am grateful to CASA and SMART Local 100 where I work, the pastors, and churches that have hosted prayer circles for me. Today I am grateful to God because He has heard me and today I am out. We are steps closer to justice, but justice has not been fully served.’
His attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said: ‘There was no need to take him into ICE detention. … The only reason they took him into detention was to punish him’ after he spoke up to fight the proceedings.’
Abrego Garcia’s initial deportation to El Salvador in March sparked a boiling point for the Trump administration’s border security efforts, with the government later admitting it made a mistake.
After courts ordered his return to the US in June, he was indicted on federal charges in Tennessee of transporting within the US people who were not legally in the country. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The father-of-three was eligible for pre-trial release, however Abrego Garcia’s attorneys requested he remain in jail out of fear the Trump administration would again order his deportation.
On Friday, he was freed from Putnam County jail in Tennessee and reunited with his family in Maryland after spending the last 160 days behind bars.
At the time of his release, Sandoval-Moshenberg said his client had been ‘reunited with his loving family’ for the first time since his deportation.
Abrego Garcia is seen hugging his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura at the ICE office in Baltimore
‘While his release brings some relief, we all know that he is far from safe,’ Sandoval-Moshenberg said. ‘ICE detention or deportation to an unknown third country still threaten to tear his family apart.’
His release required the 29-year-old to travel directly to Maryland where he was electronically monitored in home detention, with permission to leave only for work, religious services or other approved activities.
This weekend, the Trump administration said it now intends to deport Abrego Garcia – who they allege is an MS-13 gang member – to Uganda.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem slammed ‘activist liberal judges’ for Abrego Garcia’s release from prison.
In a post on X, Noem said: ‘Activist liberal judges have attempted to obstruct our law enforcement every step of the way in removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from our country.
‘Today, we reached a new low with this publicity hungry Maryland judge mandating this illegal alien who is a MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator be allowed free,’ she added.
‘By ordering this monster loose on America’s streets, this judge has shown a complete disregard for the safety of the American people. We will not stop fighting till this Salvadoran man faces justice and is OUT of our country.’
An attorney for the father-of-three – who denies being part of MS-13 – said officials had offered a plea deal that would involve sending him to Costa Rica in exchange for pleading guilty to the charges.
Sandoval-Moshenberg accused the government of ‘weaponizing the immigration system in a way that’s completely unconstitutional’.
He was released from Putnam County jail in Tennessee on Friday to rejoin his family in Maryland after 160 days behind bars
Abrego Garcia (pictured holding hands with his wife Monday) has pleaded not guilty to the smuggling charges, which stem from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee for speeding
Last week, Abrego Garcia’s criminal attorneys filed a motion asking the judge to dismiss the smuggling case, claiming he is being prosecuted as punishment for challenging his deportation to El Salvador.
In a statement Friday, defense attorney Sean Hecker said Abrego Garcia had been ‘unlawfully arrested and deported, and then imprisoned, all because of the government’s vindictive attack on a man who had the courage to fight back against the Administration’s continuing assault on the rule of law.’
Hecker added that the migrant ‘is grateful that his access to American courts has provided meaningful due process.’
Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty to the smuggling charges, which stem from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee for speeding.
Body camera footage from a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer showed the exchange with the migrant. Abrego Garcia had nine passengers in the car, and the responding officers became suspicious of smuggling.
However, Abrego Garcia was allowed to continue driving with only a warning.
Prosecutors accused Abrego of lying to police during the 2022 traffic incident, claiming he told them he and the nine other men were coming home from doing construction work in St. Louis, Missouri.
But phone records showed the Maryland resident was in Texas that morning.
Prosecutors allege the father made $100,000 per year illegally transporting migrants across the country. They also alleged he transported guns and drugs.
He was hit with charges when the Justice Department began working to find a reason to justify his mistaken deportation to El Salvador.
When the Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia in March it violated a US immigration judge’s order in 2019 that barred his expulsion to his native country.
Abrego Garcia has a wife, who is a US citizen, and children that he has lived with in Maryland for years.
But he immigrated to the US illegally.
In 2019, an immigration judge denied his application for asylum but granted him protection from being deported back to El Salvador.
The immigration judge found that Abrego Garcia faced a credible threat from gangs that had terrorized him and his family.
