In a deeply alarming move that has sparked national outrage, the Trump administration has come under intense scrutiny for publicly posting the home address of an American family already facing extraordinary hardship. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), under the Trump administration, shared the personal residence of Jennifer Vasquez Sura—the wife of wrongfully deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia—on social media, forcing the family to flee their Maryland home and relocate to a safe house.
This disturbing incident is the latest chapter in a growing scandal surrounding the wrongful deportation of Abrego Garcia, a father of three who was sent to a high-security prison in El Salvador due to what DHS officials claim was an “administrative error.” Despite a U.S. Supreme Court order demanding that the federal government facilitate his return to the United States, the Trump administration has so far failed to act.
But the situation escalated even further when, in a reckless and potentially illegal move, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and DHS posted to X (formerly Twitter) a 2021 petition for a protective order that Vasquez Sura once filed during a time of personal crisis—but later abandoned. The document was not redacted, and it contained the family’s full residential address.
As a result, Vasquez Sura and her three children—including a 5-year-old nonverbal autistic son she shares with Abrego Garcia—have been forced into hiding for their safety. The relocation was arranged by supporters and advocacy groups concerned about their exposure to potential threats.
“I don’t feel safe when the government posts my address, the house where my family lives, for everyone to see—especially when this case has gone viral and people have all sorts of opinions,” Vasquez Sura told The Washington Post. “So, this is definitely a bit terrifying. I’m scared for my kids.”
The DHS has not responded to multiple media inquiries about why it failed to redact the family’s address from the publicly posted document. The inaction and silence have only intensified criticism from legal experts, civil rights advocates, and political leaders across the country.
On Wednesday, The New Republic amplified the story, noting the shocking detail that the government had doxxed an American family amid an already volatile and politically charged case. The backlash was swift.
“The Trump administration doxxed an American citizen, endangering her and her children,” MSNBC contributor Rotimi Adeoye wrote on X. “This is completely unacceptable and flat-out wrong.”
Other voices echoed the outrage across social media platforms, including Bluesky.
“These fascists didn’t stop at abducting Abrego Garcia, they’ve now doxxed his wife, forcing her into hiding,” said Dean Preston, a renters’ rights advocate. “The Trump administration is terrorizing this family. Speak up, show up, resist.”
“The Trump administration is terrorizing this woman,” said Jonathan Cohn, political director for Progressive Mass.
Legal experts are now raising serious concerns about the potential illegality of the administration’s actions.
“I wonder if publishing Abrego Garcia and his wife’s home address violates federal or, particularly, Maryland laws,” said Katherine Hawkins, senior legal analyst for the Constitution Project at the Project On Government Oversight. “It’s definitely unconscionable and further demonstration of bad faith and intimidation.”
Meanwhile, Kilmar Abrego Garcia remains detained in El Salvador’s notorious mega-prison, despite a 2019 ruling by a U.S. immigration judge that blocked his deportation and a recent Supreme Court order mandating his return. Members of Congress have flown to El Salvador in recent days in a show of solidarity, demanding his immediate release and return to the U.S.
This incident further highlights the chaotic and often vindictive nature of Trump’s immigration and public safety policies. Not only has his administration failed to correct a wrongful deportation, but it is now accused of putting an innocent American family in direct harm’s way.
As Vasquez Sura and her children attempt to find safety in hiding, and Abrego Garcia sits in a prison cell thousands of miles away, the nation is left to grapple with the consequences of a government that uses power to intimidate, rather than protect, its people.
