A newly released document used to deport a man labeled a gang member in Prince George’s County, Maryland, is now coming into question.
The Trump administration sent Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to El Salvador in March after he was accused of being a MS-13 gang member.
The field interview report document completed by Prince George’s County police that was used to connect Abrego Gacia to MS-13 was released by U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi on Wednesday.
Labeled as a “gang field interview sheet,” the document details Abrego Garcia being stopped on March 28, 2019 with three other men, two of which were labeled as known gang members and the other suspected of being a part of MS-13.
It stated that Abrego Garcia wore “a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie with rolls of money covering the eyes, ears and mouth of the presidents” on the bills, which was “indicative of Hispanic gang culture.”
“Officers contacted a past proven and reliable source of information, who advised Kilmar Armando Abrego-Garcia is an active member of MS-13 with the Westerns clique,” the document said.
According to local outlet NBC Washington, the report was compiled by former officer Ivan Mendez. Mendez was suspended for providing information to a commercial sex worker who he was paying in exchange for sexual acts. He was later fired.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyer, Lucia Curiel, told NBC Washington when representing Abrego Garcia at his immigration hearings, the court specifically cited the gang field interview sheet as trustworthy evidence used to tie Abrego Garcia to a gang.
“At Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s immigration court hearing, the ICE attorney stated to the judge that the only ‘intel’ they had on him was in fact that ‘intel’ from the [Prince George’s County] gang unit officer. They had nothing else and the PG officer responsible for the allegations was later fired,” Curiel said in a statement to NBC Washington.
The release of the report comes as the Department of Homeland Security posted court filing for a protective order made by Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, in May of 2021.
In a statement to WTOP provided by CASA, an advocacy group for immigrants, Vasquez Sura said after surviving domestic violence in a previous relationship, she filed for a temporary protective order “out of caution” after a disagreement with Abrego Garcia “in case things escalated.”
She decided not to appear in court and the temporary protective order request dismissed.
After his deportation in March, Abrego Garcia was put in an El Salvadorian prison. He has denied being a member of a gang and has no criminal record.
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