Kilmar Abrego Garcia was stripped naked, had his head shaved, was beaten, forced to kneel for hours overnight, and lost over 30 pounds during his time at the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador, his attorneys say in a new court filing.
Abrego, of Maryland, was deported to El Salvador in March by the Trump administration in an “administrative error” and was returned to the U.S. in June to face federal charges. At the time of his removal from the U.S., Abrego was protected from deportation by a 2019 court order.
His high-profile case was pushed into the national spotlight, sparking a heated debate over Trump’s immigration crackdown and the race to deport people, at times without due process.
Abrego was deported to El Salvador on March 15 and placed into CECOT, a megaprison known for its brutal conditions.
There, he was allegedly subjected to severe beatings, sleep deprivation, inadequate nutrition and psychological torture, his attorneys said in an amended complaint filed Wednesday. That complaint is part of a federal lawsuit filed by Abego’s wife against the Trump administration in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
The complaint states that upon arrival at CECOT, Abrego was forced to strip, issued prison clothing, kicked in the legs with boots and struck on his head and arms to change faster. His head was also allegedly shaved, and he was frog-marched to a cell while being hit with wooden batons.
The following day, he had “visible bruises and lumps all over his body,” the complaint said.
In that cell, he and 20 other Salvadorans “were forced to kneel from approximately 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., with guards striking anyone who fell from exhaustion,” the filing said. During that time, Abrego was denied bathroom access and soiled himself, according to the complaint.
The inmates were confined to metal bunks with no mattresses in overcrowded cells without windows and bright lights that stayed on 24 hours a day, the complaint says.
While there, prison officials repeatedly told Abrego that “they would transfer him to cells containing gang members who, they assured him, would ‘tear’ him apart,” the complaint says.
The attorneys said Abrego observed prisoners violently harming each other without staff intervention.
“Screams from nearby cells would similarly ring out throughout the night without any response from prison guards or personnel,” the complaint says.
In his first two weeks, he lost 31 pounds.
