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By Anna Commander
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Fifty percent of American citizens think that Kilmar Abrego Garcia should be brought back to the United States from El Salvador by the Trump Administration amid his legal battle over deportation, according to a new poll.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Abrego Garcia was arrested in 2019 and has since been accused of being a member of the MS-13 El Salvadoran gang, which the Trump Administration has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
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He and his lawyer has denied involvement in the gang, but two judges, in separate rulings, concluded that he was an MS-13 member, based on confidential information provided to the court.
Nonetheless, he was shielded from deportation to his native country because he said that he would be a target of MS-13's gang rivals. Abrego Garcia was ultimately deported to El Salvador after being arrested last month in what Trump Administration lawyers called an "administrative error."
His family denies any ties to gangs and Abrego Garcia has no criminal record in the United States. In 2021, his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, accused him of domestic violence and filed paperwork to obtain a restraining order, but says they have since reconciled.
In an exclusive statement to Newsweek, Vasquez Sura said, in part: "Things did not escalate, and I decided not to follow through with the civil court process. We were able to work through the 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."
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What To Know
In a YouGov/The Economist poll released on Wednesday, 50 percent of respondents said they think Abrego Garcia should be returned to the United States and 28 percent said they do not think the Trump Administration should bring him back.
The poll shows that 49 percent of men think he should return to the U.S. and 32 percent do not think he should. Comparatively, 52 percent of women think Abrego Garcia should come back to the U.S versus 24 percent who think he should not.
The poll was taken from April 19 through April 22 among 1,625 people with a plus or minus 3.3 percentage point margin of error.
The Supreme Court previously ordered that the administration should help facilitate Abrego Garcia's return, in a unanimous ruling. Since the order, the administration has since been accused of defying the High Court's ruling.
The YouGov/The Economist survey also shows that nearly half of Americans think that the Trump administration is disobeying court orders when deporting immigrants. However, the poll shows that 25 percent of Americans think the administration has not defied any order.
Support and public opinion in general backs Trump's efforts in deporting illegal immigrants as a survey by Pew Research Center last month shows that a majority of Americans think illegal immigrants should be deported.
Democratic lawmakers have also flocked to Abrego Garcia's home country this week in an attempt to put pressure on both El Salvadoran authorities and the Trump administration.
What People Are Saying
Homeland Security in a post on X, formerly Twitter, last week: "Kilmar Abrego Garcia had a history of violence and was not the upstanding 'Maryland Man' the media has portrayed him as. According to court filings, Garcia's wife sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, claiming he punched, scratched, and ripped off her shirt, among other harm. This MS-13 gang member is not a sympathetic figure."
Trump on Truth Social on Monday: "This is the man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, that the Courts are trying to save from being deported? He was supposed to be, according to the Judge and the Democrats, a wonderful father from Maryland, but then they noticed he had 'MS-13' tattooed onto his knuckles (and lots of really bad stories about his past!). This is the gang that is, perhaps, the worst of them all. What is wrong with our Country?"
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on X last week: "Before the election, I warned that there is no safe haven under authoritarianism. If they can ship Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a foreign prison—accused of no crime, with no trial—they can do it to anyone. Americans of conscience must stand against this now."
Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, on X on Wednesday: "A Federal judge says Trump Admin is showing 'willful and intentional noncompliance' with orders to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia. This isn't just about one man. The Admin's violation of his Constitutional rights is a threat to the rights of all."
What Happens Next
It is immediately unclear if or when Abrego Garcia will return to the United States to continue his deportation case in the courts.
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