Four Democratic House Representatives went to El Salvador on Monday to support an alleged Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang member, Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Robert Garcia (D-CA-42), Maxwell Frost (D-FL-10), Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ-03), and Maxine Dexter (D-OR-03) traveled to the Central American country to press the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia.
The Democrats said in a press release that Abrego Garcia doesn’t have a criminal conviction in America, and he was unlawfully deported. In addition, these politicians noted that President Donald Trump is defying a court order from the Supreme Court, saying the alleged gang member needs to be returned to America after being deported last month.
American taxpayer dollars did not finance this trip, as House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY-01) rejected the lawmakers’ request.
“While Donald Trump continues to defy the Supreme Court, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being held illegally in El Salvador after being wrongfully deported,” said Garcia. “That is why we’re here– to remind the American people that kidnapping immigrants and deporting them without due process is not how we do things in America.”
“We are demanding the Trump Administration abide by the Supreme Court decision and give Kilmar and the other migrants mistakenly sent to El Salvador due process in the United States,” he added.
According to journalist Mica Soellner, the family of Abrego Garcia released a statement regarding the Democrats’ visit.
“We’re deeply grateful to the members of Congress and advocates for justice now on the ground in El Salvador, building on the leadership of Senator Van Hollen. We are particularly concerned about Kilmar’s health and hope to receive news about that from the visit. Their presence sends a powerful message: the fight to bring Kilmar home isn’t over,” the family said.
Abrego Garcia came to America as an illegal immigrant in 2012. However, an immigration judge ruled he could not be deported due to violent gang threats in his home country of El Salvador.
The Tennessee Star reported that Abrego Garcia was suspected of engaging in human trafficking in 2022. Furthermore, the Department of Justice released information about Abrego Garcia, saying a confidential source told law enforcement he was an MS-13 gang member.
This trip to El Salvador represents the second time American politicians have visited the country to support Abrego Garcia. Last week, Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) went to El Salvador and met with Abrego Garcia.
He tried to get the El Salvadorian government to release the alleged gang member, but that did not happen. After the visit, President Nayib Bukele posted photos of Van Hollen and Abrego Garcia enjoying margaritas together.
While Bukele was in America, he said he would not bring the alleged gang member back to the United States.
– – –
Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at [email protected].
Background Photo “El Salvador” by Maranon68. CC BY-SA 3.0.
