The wife of a 29-year-old Maryland man who was mistakenly deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador last month filed a protective order against him back in 2021 over allegations of domestic violence, according to court records obtained by CBS News.
Jennifer Vasquez sought and received a temporary protective order in civil court against Kilmar Abrego Garcia in May 2021, per court records filed in Prince George’s County District Court. The order alleges Abrego Garcia “punched and scratched” Vasquez, “ripped off” her shirt and “grabbed and bruised” her — though she has since said she didn’t move forward with the court process because the situation “did not escalate.”
In a court petition, Vasquez describes multiple incidents over the course of several days in May 2021. In one case, Vasquez wrote that Abrego Garcia got angry with her at a gas station, insulted her and drove very fast. Days later, Vasquez alleges Abrego Garcia yelled at her to turn off her laptop, and when she said she wasn’t tired, she said he “got angry” and threw her laptop on the floor. She alleged she pushed him off of her, and “he then punched” and “[scratched] me on my left eye, leaving me bleeding.”
Later that day, Abrego Garcia allegedly tore off Vasquez’s shorts and shirt and “grabbed me by the arm” when she ran away, leaving a mark on her left arm. The following morning, after he allegedly didn’t give her a set of car keys, she called an Uber for her and the kids because she was “scared of him” and “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,” Vasquez wrote in the petition.
At the time, the judge in the case ordered Abrego Garcia not to contact Vasquez, and to vacate their home and stay away from the home of another family member. He was also ordered to surrender firearms.
The case, however, was dismissed in June 2021 after Vasquez failed to appear for a final hearing, according to court records. The two returned to living together.
Abrego Garcia’s legal team responded to Vasquez’s protective order after the Department of Homeland Security posted it on X Wednesday, noting he hasn’t been criminally convicted.
“If the government believes there is a legitimate case to be made, it should present that case in a court of law and have a judge review and decide his fate—not on social media,” Abrego Garcia’s lawyers wrote. “But that cannot happen until Mr. Abrego Garcia is returned to the United States and given full due process. These allegations, without more, prove why due process and access to counsel is so important.”
In a statement provided to CBS News Wednesday evening, Vasquez confirmed seeking the court order.
“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.”
Court records show Vasquez sought and obtained a separate temporary protective order in August 2020, also alleging domestic violence.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Vasquez also sought a protective order against Abrego Garcia in 2020, accusing him of verbally abusing her, kicking and slapping her. She said when police arrived at their home, he became more violent, breaking her phone in front of an officer. She also stated that there had been other incidents in 2019 and 2020 when he became violent and broke electronic devices and doors in the house.
Criminal charges were never filed for the 2020 allegations.
Vasquez is a U.S. citizen and Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran national.
The Trump administration has admitted that an “administrative error” led to Abrego Garcia’s deportation on March 15, but has claimed Abrego Garcia is “not a sympathetic figure,” sharing Vasquez’s protective order on X Wednesday.
The case has prompted a string of legal wrangling that made its way to the Supreme Court, which last week upheld a lower court decision that the Trump administration be required to “facilitate” his release.
Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, the case has appeared to languish. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has repeatedly rebuked the Trump administration for stonewalling her and not complying with her order to both provide information on Abrego Garcia’s whereabouts and facilitate his return to the U.S.
Abrego Garcia was among 238 Venezuelans and 23 Salvadoran migrants that were placed aboard three March 15 deportation flights to El Salvador after the White House alleged, often without evidence, that the men are members of transnational gangs.
President Trump invoked the wartime 1798 Alien Enemies Act as justification for deporting many of the migrants to El Salvador. Another federal judge who had ordered the three flights to El Salvador be turned around found Wednesday that there was probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt for defying his orders.
The men are reportedly being held in the notorious Salvadoran supermax prison, known as CECOT, under an agreement with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
During a White House meeting with Mr. Trump Monday, Bukele told reporters he would not be returning Abrego Garcia to the U.S., and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that same day it is “up to El Salvador if they want to return him.”
Abrego Garcia came to the U.S. illegally in 2011 when he was 16 years old.
In 2019, he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but an immigration judge barred his removal from the U.S. after determining that he could face persecution by gangs if deported to El Salvador. The judge granted him what is known as “withholding of removal” status.
He was arrested again on March 12 following a traffic stop. Citing information from an informant who officials have said is credible, the Department of Homeland Security has alleged that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, a claim his family and attorneys deny. Abrego Garcia has no criminal record in the U.S. or El Salvador, according to government documents.
In an interview with CBS News earlier this month, Vasquez said that Abrego Garcia is “not a criminal. My husband is an amazing person. An amazing father.”
Nicole Sganga,
Camilo Montoya-Galvez,
Jacob Rosen,
and
Melissa Quinn
contributed to this report.
