DHS Stands By Deportation Of Alleged MS-13 Member Sent To El Salvador's CECOT

The Trump administration says it stands by the March deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia — an alleged MS-13 member who had previously been granted withholding of removal — after he was transferred to El Salvador’s maximum-security CECOT prison. Officials say intelligence ties him to human trafficking and gang leadership; his lawyers call the removal improper and point to an acknowledged administrative error. The case is part of a broader early-2025 pattern of U.S. deportations of alleged gang members to partner-country prisons under bilateral deals.