Maryland man deported by ICE error 'probably an MS-13 gang member' according to Rep. Andy Harris

Carson Swick, Baltimore Sun on Apr 1, 2025

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Maryland Republican Rep. Andy Harris is not happy with how some media outlets have reported on the “administrative error” that caused a Beltsville, Maryland, man to be mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

“Well it turns out that that person was probably an MS-13 gang member. And look, MS-13 gang members, Tren de Aragua gang members, some of them are fathers,” Harris said Tuesday during a telephone town hall. “And to classify them not as an illegal alien gang member but as a ‘Maryland father’ is just an attempt to whitewash the need to deport criminal illegal aliens.”

Harris was referring to Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran national who was arrested March 12 in Baltimore and deported to his home country three days later despite having been granted “Withholding of Removal” status and legal working papers from the Department of Homeland Security. A judge ruled in 2019 that Abrego Garcia could not be deported because it was “more likely than not that he would be persecuted by gangs,” according to a complaint filed by his attorney.

While Abrego Garcia has not been convicted of any violent crimes in the U.S. or El Salvador, the extent of his involvement with gangs remains unclear.

According to a court filing, a “confidential informant” advised U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that Abrego Garcia was an “active member” of MS-13. Acting on this information, a judge ruled he was a danger to the community — a ruling Abrego Garcia never legally challenged and the Trump administration used as grounds for his deportation.

Harris cheered President Donald Trump’s broader efforts to address illegal immigration without congressional action, claiming Trump’s executive orders have directly caused a 99% reduction in the number of illegal border crossings.

Harris’ town hall

During the virtual town hall, Harris answered questions from constituents who mostly opposed his stances on issues such as federal government cuts, corporate tax rates and the construction of a new FBI headquarters in Maryland.

Several people on the call — which Harris said attracted 3,900 participants — challenged the congressman on cuts to Medicaid, the National Institute of Health, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and more. Harris framed the Medicaid issue as “decreasing the rate of growth” rather than outright cuts and argued individual states should shoulder the load for increasing protections beyond what the Affordable Care Act guarantees.

“I just think it’s fair that we ask the states that if you want to expand coverage to (non-disabled adults), that you probably ought to pay your fair share,” Harris said.

Two other callers suggested corporations are the ones not paying their fair share and proposed raising America’s corporate tax rate to 50% or more. Harris responded that this would drive corporations out of the U.S. and consequently fail to collect trillions of dollars in revenue to pay down the national debt.

“If we were talking about maybe (raising the corporate tax rate) 1% or 2%, I could consider that. We’re in a hole, I could consider that,” Harris said. “But when you start raising it more than that, we are going to find companies flee rapidly to our economic competitors.”

Finally, a caller from Easton accused Harris of “hiding in the shadows” by not taking a strong public stance on Trump’s proposal to construct the new FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. Harris said he agreed with the president’s plan for the agency to temporarily use available office space because it was in the best interest of his district’s taxpayers and noted the previously proposed Greenbelt site is not in his district.

“I represent the 1st congressional district, and my taxpayers will be better off if the more frugal pathway is taken, which is to actually reuse the federal office space downtown,” Harris said, referring to D.C.

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