section_path: Background/Kilmar Abrego Garcia/Withholding of removal status and later legal issues
section_name: Withholding of removal status and later legal issues
paragraph_text: Withholding of removal status and later legal issues
  
  Abrego Garcia applied for asylum after his request for bail was refused in order to prevent his deportation to El Salvador, saying he feared returning due to threats of persecution and torture. A judge denied his request for asylum, because asylum applications must be submitted within one year of one's arrival in the United States.
  
  However, Abrego Garcia also applied for "withholding of removal" status. This request was granted by immigration judge David M. Jones, who issued a removal order but barred deportation to El Salvador, saying he faced a "clear probability of future persecution" in the country, and he "demonstrated that authorities were and would be unable or unwilling to protect him." The judge wrote that Abrego Garcia provided "substantial documentation" in favor of his claims and that his testimony was "internally consistent, externally consistent", and "appeared free of embellishment".
  
  Withholding of removal is "similar to asylum" but requires a higher burden of proof, and does not preclude potential deportation to a third country not covered by the status. Those granted withholding of removal are allowed to live and work lawfully in the US indefinitely. The immigration judge enters a deportation order, then tells the government they cannot execute that order, hence withholding removal. Immigrants are ineligible for withholding of removal if they have been convicted of aggravated felonies, are suspected to have committed a serious crime prior to their arrival in the US, or are judged to present a security risk to the US. Unlike asylum, recipients cannot become eligible for a green card and permanent residency to gain a path to citizenship.
  
  ICE did not appeal the judge's ruling, and released Abrego Garcia from custody. The US Department of Homeland Security granted him a work permit, and he lived and worked legally in Maryland. He was required to check in with ICE annually, with which he complied. While Abrego Garcia was still detained and awaiting the resolution of his deportation proceedings, he married Jennifer Vasquez Sura in June 2019; the two were separated by glass and an officer gave them both their wedding rings. Later in 2019, Vasquez Sura gave birth to their son. Abrego Garcia continued working to support his family. He became a sheet metal apprentice in September 2024, and was pursuing his journeyman 's license at the time of his deportation.
  
  Abrego Garcia faced several allegations of domestic abuse from his wife, none of which resulted in any charges being filed. Vasquez Sura said that the abuse started in November 2019, about a month after he was released from ICE detention, and that in addition to abusing her, he was also breaking things in the house out of anger. She filled out paperwork for a protective order, but did not show up in court after Abrego Garcia's family convinced her not to. In 2020, she again applied for a protective order, and a judge granted temporary protection and ordered Abrego Garcia to move out of the house. Vasquez Sura requested that the order be rescinded eight days later, so that Abrego Garcia could attend their son's first birthday party, and she did not show up at the subsequent court hearing. Vasquez Sura sought another protective order in 2021, alleging that Abrego Garcia had physically attacked her on multiple occasions, and once again the application was dismissed when she did not appear for the hearing. In 2025, looking back at the period of alleged abuse, she said that Abrego Garcia "was traumatized" from his seven months in ICE detention, and that they were also dealing with other stressors, including "caring for our children with barely enough to get by." She stated that with the help of counseling, "We closed that chapter. We were mature enough to look for help."
  
  On either November 30 or December 1, 2022, at a traffic stop on Interstate 40 in Tennessee, Abrego Garcia and eight others were pulled over by the Tennessee Highway Patrol for speeding and veering out of his lane. A Department of Homeland Security report stated that Abrego Garcia informed the Tennessee Highway Patrol officer that he was driving from Houston, Texas, to St. Louis, to Temple Hills, Maryland to transport people to a construction job, and had been driving for three days at that point. The officer reportedly suspected it was a case of human trafficking because there was no luggage in the vehicle. The Highway Patrol processed his driver's license and found that it was expired and contained a note to inform federal officers due to alleged affiliation with MS-13. The agency contacted ICE, which declined to take Abrego Garcia into custody, and no charges were filed against him.
  
  Abrego Garcia applied for asylum after his request for bail was refused in order to prevent his deportation to El Salvador, saying he feared returning due to threats of persecution and torture. A judge denied his request for asylum, because asylum applications must be submitted within one year of one's arrival in the United States.
  
  However, Abrego Garcia also applied for "withholding of removal" status. This request was granted by immigration judge David M. Jones, who issued a removal order but barred deportation to El Salvador, saying he faced a "clear probability of future persecution" in the country, and he "demonstrated that authorities were and would be unable or unwilling to protect him." The judge wrote that Abrego Garcia provided "substantial documentation" in favor of his claims and that his testimony was "internally consistent, externally consistent", and "appeared free of embellishment".
  
  Withholding of removal is "similar to asylum" but requires a higher burden of proof, and does not preclude potential deportation to a third country not covered by the status. Those granted withholding of removal are allowed to live and work lawfully in the US indefinitely. The immigration judge enters a deportation order, then tells the government they cannot execute that order, hence withholding removal. Immigrants are ineligible for withholding of removal if they have been convicted of aggravated felonies, are suspected to have committed a serious crime prior to their arrival in the US, or are judged to present a security risk to the US. Unlike asylum, recipients cannot become eligible for a green card and permanent residency to gain a path to citizenship.
  
  ICE did not appeal the judge's ruling, and released Abrego Garcia from custody. The US Department of Homeland Security granted him a work permit, and he lived and worked legally in Maryland. He was required to check in with ICE annually, with which he complied. While Abrego Garcia was still detained and awaiting the resolution of his deportation proceedings, he married Jennifer Vasquez Sura in June 2019; the two were separated by glass and an officer gave them both their wedding rings. Later in 2019, Vasquez Sura gave birth to their son. Abrego Garcia continued working to support his family. He became a sheet metal apprentice in September 2024, and was pursuing his journeyman 's license at the time of his deportation.
  
  Abrego Garcia faced several allegations of domestic abuse from his wife, none of which resulted in any charges being filed. Vasquez Sura said that the abuse started in November 2019, about a month after he was released from ICE detention, and that in addition to abusing her, he was also breaking things in the house out of anger. She filled out paperwork for a protective order, but did not show up in court after Abrego Garcia's family convinced her not to. In 2020, she again applied for a protective order, and a judge granted temporary protection and ordered Abrego Garcia to move out of the house. Vasquez Sura requested that the order be rescinded eight days later, so that Abrego Garcia could attend their son's first birthday party, and she did not show up at the subsequent court hearing. Vasquez Sura sought another protective order in 2021, alleging that Abrego Garcia had physically attacked her on multiple occasions, and once again the application was dismissed when she did not appear for the hearing. In 2025, looking back at the period of alleged abuse, she said that Abrego Garcia "was traumatized" from his seven months in ICE detention, and that they were also dealing with other stressors, including "caring for our children with barely enough to get by." She stated that with the help of counseling, "We closed that chapter. We were mature enough to look for help."
  
  On either November 30 or December 1, 2022, at a traffic stop on Interstate 40 in Tennessee, Abrego Garcia and eight others were pulled over by the Tennessee Highway Patrol for speeding and veering out of his lane. A Department of Homeland Security report stated that Abrego Garcia informed the Tennessee Highway Patrol officer that he was driving from Houston, Texas, to St. Louis, to Temple Hills, Maryland to transport people to a construction job, and had been driving for three days at that point. The officer reportedly suspected it was a case of human trafficking because there was no luggage in the vehicle. The Highway Patrol processed his driver's license and found that it was expired and contained a note to inform federal officers due to alleged affiliation with MS-13. The agency contacted ICE, which declined to take Abrego Garcia into custody, and no charges were filed against him.