Kilmar Case: The Hill Democrats Chose
An exhaustive breakdown of the case from its 2019 start to the present day, and what the administration can do to make the madness stop.
For the last month, the Democrats have been crying relentlessly over Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the so-called “Maryland Father” who was supposedly sent to the El Salvadoran gulag by mistake. The more information that comes out about the guy, the more the left screams, “Due Process!” (Sidebar: If only they cared as much about the due process of gun owners, red flag laws would not be a thing.) But all is not what it seems. I’m going to give you all the facts and the documentation to back them up, explain the controversies, and outline what the Trump Administration’s next steps should be.
First, let’s deal with that pesky “Due Process” issue. It is absolutely true that both the Fifth and Fourteenth Constitutional Amendments guarantee the right to due process to anyone living within the United States. SCOTUS has repeatedly reaffirmed this. However, it is not true that Kilmar was never given due process. Kilmar had his day in court in 2019. At least three different judges and the Board of Immigrant Appeals have all looked at his case. So let’s go over the documents from those hearings.
Immigration court records are not exactly public. However, because of the uproar, the DOJ released a batch of documents.
Because it was filed as part of the new lawsuit, we also have access to the asylum petition order.
The Kilmar case starts on March 28, 2019. Police from Prince George’s County, Maryland, picked up Kilmar in front of a Home Depot, where he was hanging out with other known members of MS-13. PGCPD noted that MS-13 members are only allowed to hang out with other members. They found a lot of weed under a nearby car where one of the guys had hidden it, and Kilmar had over $1000 in his pockets. Kilmar was identified as a gang member by the clothes he was wearing and the company he kept. PGCPD had an informant who verified Kilmar’s active gang status. Kilmar’s nickname was “Chele,” and he had the rank of “chequeo.”
There are some in the media who are trying to say that chequeos are not really MS-13 gang members, but that is a lie. According to a 2022 Insight Crime article, chequeos are like journeyman gangsters in the MS-13 hierarchy. The lower levels, “paros” and “postes,” are not considered gang members. They are the apprentices. They act as lookouts and run little errands. A chequeo gets to attend gang meetings and is considered someone the lower levels must obey. It takes about six years, but if a chequeo does well for the gang and kills at least three people, he can earn the rank of “homeboy,” and be considered a full-fledged member. Problem is, most of the homeboys are in jail. As a result, most of the gang on the outside is made up of chequeos.
Anyway, ICE quickly swooped in and picked up Kilmar the next day. (Sidenote: PG County, MD passed a bill in November 2019 that it will no longer honor ICE Detainers.) According to the ICE intake form, Kilmar had been detained as part of a murder investigation before being turned over to them. He copped to being in the country illegally. He told ICE that he had crossed the desert and entered at McAllen, Texas, in 2012 when he was about 16. He also initially claimed he had no fear of being sent back to “his country.” When it became clear he would be deported, he suddenly changed his tune and declared he was scared of going back to El Salvador.
In April 2019, an immigration judge found the evidence that he was a member of MS-13 to be credible. The judge denied bond because Kilmar was a danger to the community and a flight risk. A month later, in May 2019, a second immigration judge agreed with the first one and also denied bond.