Yesterday, I tweeted out after hearing a segment on National Public Radio on the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. NPR reported that there was no evidence presented that Abrego Garcia was an MS-13 member and that “he had been living quietly in Maryland” before he was suddenly arrested and deported. While many disagree on the handling of the case, few would agree that Abrego Garcia who was reported for spousal abuse and suspected of human trafficking was “living quietly in Maryland.”

Anyone listening to the radio program would have been left with an incomplete and distorted account of the case.

The print story used the same language as the radio segment. NPR claimed that Abrego Garcia

“was granted protection by an immigration judge in 2019 that should have prevented his deportation. He had been living quietly in Maryland with his wife and three children and working in construction until Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested and deported him last month.”

I have previously said that I believe the Administration should have returned Abrego Garcia to the United States for a correct and prompt deportation. If he were to be brought back, I cannot see any barrier to Abrego Garcia not only being deported but deported back to El Salvador.

NPR leaves out a couple of facts in its passing reference to his being “granted protection by an immigration judge.” Abrego Garcia already had a hearing at which the judge found evidence that he was an MS-13 member. It was not only based on his being arrested with MS-13 gang members and wearing clothing associated with the gang. It was also based on a confidential source connected to the gang. After losing at his hearing, Abrego Garcia then lost on appeal.