Abrego Garcia says he was tortured in a Salvadorian prison

The Trump administration faces renewed scrutiny after returning Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S., months after his controversial deportation to El Salvador in March. A new court filing alleges he was tortured inside one of the country’s most notorious prisons before being brought back to face separate criminal charges.

Allegations of abuse in CECOT prison

According to court documents filed Wednesday, July 2, in federal court in Maryland, Abrego Garcia endured beatings, sleep deprivation and psychological abuse while held at the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT. His lawyers said guards forced him and 20 other deportees to kneel overnight, striking those who collapsed. He was allegedly denied bathroom access, made to sleep on metal bunks without mattresses and kept under constant lighting.

The filings claim Abrego Garcia lost 31 pounds in two weeks and described the prison as overcrowded, windowless and designed to isolate detainees. His legal team also said Salvadoran officials acknowledged he was not affiliated with gangs and stated that his tattoos were not gang-related.

At one point, prison staff reportedly warned him that transferring him to a gang-populated cell would be dangerous. Later, officials moved him and four others to a separate area where they were photographed with mattresses and food, which his lawyers allege was staged for appearances.

Legal fallout following return to the US 

After weeks of saying his return was impossible, the Trump administration brought Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. in June. He remains in federal custody in Nashville and faces human smuggling charges related to alleged MS-13 activity.

Abrego Garcia has entered a not guilty plea, and his lawyers argue that the U.S. brought charges against him to justify his deportation retroactively. Court filings assert that federal prosecutors and Trump himself misinterpreted his tattoos as gang symbols.

What comes next

Judges in Maryland and Tennessee will hold hearings in July that could decide whether Abrego Garcia can stay in the U.S. or face deportation to a third country. 

His attorneys have asked a Maryland judge to block removal, arguing ICE may attempt to expel him before trial proceedings conclude. A judge in Tennessee previously ordered his release, but federal prosecutors objected, citing concerns over possible deportation.