(NewsNation) — The wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador, sought a restraining order against her husband alleging domestic violence, according to a 2021 court filing posted on social media by the Department of Homeland Security.
In its post, DHS officials wrote, “Kilmar Abrego Garcia had a history of violence and was not the upstanding ‘Maryland Man’ the media has portrayed him as.”
Abrego Garcia’s attorney, Benjamin Osorio, told NewsNation on Wednesday that Abrego Garcia’s legal team is aware of the allegations that DHS “is pushing in the media.” He said that the allegations of domestic violence made in the 2021 filing never resulted in a conviction.
“Of course, we welcome them to present this in a court of law and have a judge review and decide his fate,” Osorio told NewsNation.
Jennifer Vasquez Sura files order against Kilmar Abrego Garcia
The order was filed by Jennifer Vasquez Sura in 2021 in a Maryland court, according to the documents shared by DHS. The affidavit for the temporary restraining order alleges that Abrego Garcia punched and scratched his wife, ripped her shirt and grabbed and bruised her.
“The court orders that the abovenamed respondent SHALL NOT abuse, threaten to abuse, and/or harass the petitioner and others to be protected,” the documents posted by DHS read. “That the above named respondent SHALL NOT contact the protected parties by any means.”
Osorio said that attorneys have not been able to discuss the allegations made in the 2021 court documents with Abrego Garcia because they have been denied access to him.
In a statement issued Wednesday by Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), which is representing members of Abrego Garcia’s family, Jennifer Vasquez Sura said that she filed the order after a disagreement with her husband.
She noted that she had survived a previous relationship that included domestic violence. However, she did not appear at a court hearing regarding the order she filed against Abrego Garcia and the matter did not move forward.
“Things did not escalate, and I decided not to follow through with the civil court process,” Vasquez Sura said in the statement. “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.”
“These allegations, without more, prove why due process and access to counsel is so important,” Osorio told NewsNation. “We look forward to the government complying with the Supreme Court order and facilitating his urgent release from custody in El Salvador.”
Vasquez Sura has appeared in court as her husband’s deportation case has been argued, speaking to the media on his behalf and saying she would “not stop fighting until I see my husband alive.” In her statement issued on Wednesday, she criticized Homeland Security for posting the previous order for protection she filed.
“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,” she said in the statement. “Kilmar has always been a loving partner and father, and I will continue to stand by him and demand justice for him.”
Kilmar Abrego Garcia sent to El Salvador
Abrego Garcia was sent to El Salvador after an “administrative error” was made and placed him on an airplane among immigrants ordered to be deported. His deportation has led to a lengthy legal fight between the Trump administration and the judicial system.
As of Wednesday, Abrego Garcia remains in El Salvador despite a U.S. Supreme Court order for plans to be made for his return to the United States after claiming he was improperly removed from the U.S.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said he has requested to visit Abrego Garcia in El Salvador but was told by the country’s vice president that “more time was needed” to arrange a visit to the prison where Abrego Garcia is being held.
White House officials have portrayed Abrego Garcia as a violent member of the MS-13 gang. Osorio told NewsNation’s “CUOMO” that there is no current proof that Abrego Garcia has any affiliation with the notorious gang.
Yet U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi posted documents on her X account on Wednesday from a 2019 gang field interview conducted by the Prince George’s County Police Department in which Abrego Garcia was interviewed.
The report indicated that Abrego Garcia was among four men who were seen loitering in the parking lot of a local Home Depot. The report indicated that Abrego Garcia was wearing a Chicago Bulls baseball cap and a hoodie with rolls of money covering the eyes, ears and mouth of presidents. The report said that officers knew the clothing to be indicative of the Hispanic gang culture.
It also said that wearing a Bulls cap represents that they are a member in good standing with the MS-13 gang. The report stated that officers contacted a confidential informant who told them that Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang’s Westerns clique.
Sources told NewsNation that Abrego Garcia was stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in 2022 for reportedly illegally transporting eight immigrants from Houston to Maryland. However, he was not arrested or charged after those in the vehicle claimed that they were going to Maryland for work.
NewsNation’s Ali Bradley contributed reporting to this story.