Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and other Democrat Representatives arrived in El Salvador to demand the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States after he was illegally deported. (File Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Democrat Representatives Robert Garcia (CA-42), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03) and Maxine Dexter (OR-03) arrived in El Salvador to demand the Trump Administration abide by the Supreme Court decision to return Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to the United States after he was illegally deported.
The representatives stated in a press release that it is an independent, personally-funded trip conducted after Chairman James Comer refused to approve the lawmakers’ request for an official CODEL.
“While Donald Trump continues to defy the Supreme Court, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia is being held illegally in El Salvador after being wrongfully deported,” said Congressman Robert 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.”
Earlier this month, Congressman Garcia and Congressman Frost sent a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer requesting authorization for a Congressional Member Delegation (CODEL) to visit Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), the maximum-security prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador. After the chairman rejected their request, Congressman Garcia and Congressman Frost planned an independent trip.
In the statement, Rep. Garcia said he remains committed to reforming the immigration system, creating fair pathways to citizenship and treating immigrants with respect and dignity.
Garcia said he has also written letters demanding answers from the Trump Administration on its deportation of Andry Hernández Romero, a gay Venezuelan makeup artist who was sent to a prison in El Salvador in violation of a federal court order and in the absence of credible evidence supporting the government’s claims about his affiliation with a criminal gang.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.