Protesters Call for Return of Abrego Garcia in DC

Supporters of the Salvadoran illegal immigrant held multiple rallies across Washington, alleging that his deportation by the Trump administration was unlawful.

Supporters of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national removed from the United States, protest in Washington on May 1, 2025. Arjun Singh/The Epoch Times

WASHINGTON—Protesters held multiple rallies across Washington on May 1, demanding that the Trump administration have Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to the United States from confinement in El Salvador.

Abrego Garcia, 29, is a Salvadoran national who entered the U.S. illegally sometime in 2012, according to documents released by the Department of Justice. In 2019, he was arrested in Maryland and ordered to be removed from the United States, but the removal to El Salvador was withheld by a judge per a provision of law that prevents removal to countries with a “clear probability” of persecution. During his period of immigration custody, he married Jennifer Vasquez Sura—a U.S. citizen, with whom he fathered an autistic child—and was later released temporarily, though the order of removal remained.

On March 15, Abrego Garcia was removed, along with other illegal immigrants who are suspected or confirmed criminal gang members, to El Salvador by the Trump administration, which invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to justify the action.

The administration later conceded that Abrego Garcia’s removal despite the deportation protection was an “administrative error,” but has cited the prior removal order and law enforcement documents stating his affiliation with the MS-13 gang, which is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Abrego Garcia and his lawyer have denied the gang affiliation.

President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has publicly refused to send Abrego Garcia back to the United States. Bukele and the Trump administration have entered an agreement to hold removed deportees at his country’s Terrorism Confinement Center, where Abrego Garcia was initially held.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland is currently hearing a lawsuit filed by Abrego Garcia’s attorneys that challenges his removal. The case is at a preliminary stage with many interlocutory appeals, including an order issued by the Supreme Court. The presiding judge, Paula Xinis, has ordered the administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the country, while holding discovery proceedings to seek more evidence in the case.

His removal has sparked outrage among Democrats, progressives, and illegal immigrant advocates across the nation.

On May 1, supporters of Abrego Garcia’s return held multiple rallies across Washington to highlight his case.

Rebecca Henry, a retiree from Silver Spring, Md., holds up a sign demanding Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return in Lafayette Park in Washington on May 1, 2025. Arjun Singh/The Epoch Times

“I don’t care if he was a good guy or a bad guy. You have to have due process,” said Rebecca Henry, a retired employee of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from Silver Spring, Maryland, who attended a protest at Lafayette Square across from the White House. “We don’t live in the Middle Ages. We’re living in a country where due process is the law,” Henry added, saying that Abrego Garcia’s removal violated due process.

Henry, a U.S. citizen, said Abrego Garcia’s removal “absolutely” made her fear for her own rights. “As soon as you start caving on one person, you don’t know where it’s going to stop, and that’s why we have got to really hold the line with this guy,” she said.

Other protesters similarly cited their concerns about due process.

“He represents a significant portion of our population. ... He represents a part of our community, and the way [the removal] was done [indicates] what the current regime [will] do to violate the law,” said Bob Fasick, a D.C. native residing in Virginia, when asked by The Epoch Times why he was protesting. Fasick was among many holding signs bearing Abrego Garcia’s name during a protest at Freedom Plaza, which is adjacent to the White House complex, in the evening.

Bob Fasick, a resident of Virginia, supports Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return to the United States at a protest in Freedom Plaza in Washington on May 1, 2025. Arjun Singh/The Epoch Times

Douglas Vaughn, a Quaker man from Maryland who was holding a sign regarding immigration at the same protest, said: “Our government should always give people the proper due process before they send people away to a foreign country.”

“There has been a chilling effect” on immigrant communities, he said, due to Abrego Garcia’s removal.

At the rally in Lafayette Square, Abrego Garcia’s wife, Vasquez Sura, accused the administration of deporting him illegally in a speech to the crowd.

“My husband was illegally detained, abducted, and disappeared ... with no due process, because of an error,” Vasquez Sura said.

“This pain is indescribable. ... I stand here today not just for Kilmar, but for all the families affected.”

Protesters in Washington on May 1 hold up signs demanding due process for deportees. Arjun Singh/The Epoch Times

The protesters believe their advocacy will help secure Abrego Garcia’s release by generating press coverage.

“If Trump were to pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey, look, you got to release him. I’m getting too much fall back,’ he would be released,” said Fasick of Abrego Garcia. “That’s what [we’re trying to do] in a nutshell.”

“It makes a huge difference when we get out on the streets, and I think they’re paying attention,” said Henry.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.