It turns out the wife of “wrongfully deported” Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national flown by the Trump administration back to his home country and put into a prison for terrorists, filed a restraining order against her husband back in 2021, accusing him of physically assaulting her.
In the written domestic violence allegations filed in court by Jennifer Vasquez just four years ago, Abrego Garcia "punched and scratched" her, "ripped off" her shirt and shorts, "grabbed and bruised" her, and hit her in the eye, leaving her bleeding. At the time, Vasquez said the incident was just the latest in a string of repeated physical assaults. She detailed two other incidents from 2020, writing, "In November 2020, he hit me with his work boot,” and “In August 2020, he hit me in the eye leaving a purple eye."
"At this point, I am afraid to be close to him. I have multiple photos/videos of how violent he can be and all the bruises he [has] left me,” she alleged in the court filing.
The case was ultimately dismissed after Vasquez failed to appear for a final hearing.
Since her husband was deported as part of a group of illegal alien gang members sent to a prison in El Salvador, Vasquez has maintained his innocence and advocated for his being brought back to the United States. After the Department of Homeland Security released her request for a restraining order as part of a cache of documents alleging Abrego Garcia’s violent past, Vasquez tried to downplay the 2021 incident, saying she “acted out of caution” after a "disagreement" and claiming that her husband “has always been a loving partner.”
"After surviving domestic violence in a previous relationship, I acted out of caution after a disagreement with Kilmar by seeking a civil protective order in case things escalated," Vasquez said. "Things did not escalate, and I decided not to follow through with the civil court process. We were able to work through this situation privately as a family, including by going to counseling. Our marriage only grew stronger in the years that followed. No one is perfect, and no marriage is perfect.
"That is not a justification for ICE's action of abducting him and deporting him to a country where he was supposed to be protected from deportation. Kilmar has always been a loving partner and father, and I will continue to stand by him and demand justice for him," she went on.
A loving partner - despite allegedly beating her and leaving her bruised and bloody.
In addition to the restraining order, the Department of Homeland Security under the Trump administration also released a Prince George's County Police Department interview sheet explaining local police in Maryland had found Abrego Garcia loitering in a Home Depot parking lot with other known MS-13 gang members in possession of illicit drugs back in 2019 while police were investigating a murder. Police claimed they linked him with an MS-13 clique through a "past proven and reliable source” who reportedly identified Abrego Garcia as a ranking member of the gang.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have claimed the government has provided no definitive proof of his gang affiliation and cited the fact that he has no known criminal record in the U.S. - besides, of course, having come into the country unlawfully and living here without legal status. Trump administration officials have admitted Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador due to an “administrative error” and should have been deported elsewhere, but have continued to state that Abrego Garcia has no legal status in the U.S. and is a public danger.
For their part, the Supreme Court ruled he had been deported in error and upheld a lower court ruling ordering the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. for due process. In response, the White House has said that he is now a Salvadoran national who has been returned to his home country and is therefore outside their legal jurisdiction, maintaining that he is a known gang member.
Many Democrats, who refused to stand for the families of illegal alien murder victims during Trump's address to Congress earlier this year, have pushed for a congressional delegation to El Salvador to advocate for Abrego Garcia's release and "check" to make sure he's okay.