{"id":287161,"date":"2025-04-21T23:11:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T23:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/21\/democrats-land-in-el-salvador-seeking-release-of-kilmar-armando-abrego-garcia\/"},"modified":"2025-04-21T23:11:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T23:11:08","slug":"democrats-land-in-el-salvador-seeking-release-of-kilmar-armando-abrego-garcia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/21\/democrats-land-in-el-salvador-seeking-release-of-kilmar-armando-abrego-garcia\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats Land in El Salvador, Seeking Release of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/04\/21\/multimedia\/21trump-news-el-salvador-jgwh\/21trump-news-el-salvador-jgwh-facebookJumbo-v9.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Democrats Land in El Salvador, Seeking Release of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia\" title=\"Democrats Land in El Salvador, Seeking Release of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Four House Democrats traveled to El Salvador on Monday to press for the release of a Maryland resident who was mistakenly deported there last month, and to demand updates on him and other migrants who are imprisoned there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The visit was the latest bid by Democrats in Congress to amplify the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man whom Trump administration officials have admitted to erroneously sending back to his home country, and the hundreds of other immigrants the administration has hastily deported in violation of federal judges\u2019 orders to allow them a chance to challenge their treatment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Representatives Robert Garcia of California, Maxwell Alejandro Frost of Florida, Yassamin Ansari of Arizona and Maxine E. Dexter of Oregon met with William H. Duncan, the U.S. ambassador to El Salvador, at the embassy in San Salvador on Monday morning. They urged the ambassador to raise the issue with Salvadoran officials and to press for transparency about Mr. Abrego Garcia\u2019s detention, which they argued contravened both judicial orders by American judges and international norms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The lawmakers said they had not been permitted by Salvadoran officials to meet with Mr. Abrego Garcia themselves.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After their meeting, a U.S. Embassy official, who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the lawmakers\u2019 concerns had been relayed to the Salvadoran government. The members of Congress also raised the case of Andry Jose Hernandez Romero, a Venezuelan makeup artist who was detained for months in California and was among those deported from the United States last month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The official said it was the first time the embassy had raised questions to President Nayib Bukele\u2019s administration about the treatment of more than 250 Venezuelan migrants now being held in Salvadoran custody.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At a news conference after the meeting, the Democrats denounced the Trump administration\u2019s failure to comply with court orders, including a Supreme Court decision instructing the administration to take steps to facilitate Mr. Abrego Garcia\u2019s return to the United States.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe left that meeting with absolutely zero indication that this administration is going to facilitate, or wants to facilitate, the return of Abrego Garcia back to the United States so he can go through due process,\u201d Mr. Frost told reporters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Members of the group also said they were there to ascertain whether Mr. Abrego Garcia was in good health and actually being held where officials have said he is, as well as to ensure that the American public would continue focusing on the Trump administration\u2019s refusal to bring back Mr. Abrego Garcia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The lawmakers\u2019 visit follows that of Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, who traveled to El Salvador last week. After two days of resistance from Mr. Bukele\u2019s government, Salvadoran officials allowed Mr. Van Hollen <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/17\/us\/politics\/senator-chris-van-hollen-el-salvador-prison.html\" title=\"\">to meet with Mr. Abrego Garcia<\/a> face to face, delivering him unexpectedly to the senator\u2019s hotel for a meeting that appeared staged to emphasize how well he was being treated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Abrego Garcia, who was born in El Salvador and entered the United States illegally in 2012, had been living in Maryland with his wife and their three children when he was detained last month and deported. He was sent to El Salvador along with more than 200 other detainees the U.S. government accused of having ties to the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Abrego Garcia had been arrested in 2019, but a judge ordered that he not be deported to El Salvador after determining that he would face grave danger there. After his deportation on March 15, a federal judge in Maryland ordered his return to the United States, and the Supreme Court unanimously said on April 10 that the Trump administration should facilitate his return.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While the Trump administration initially said that Mr. Abrego Garcia was sent to El Salvador by mistake, it has since insisted his deportation was lawful and appropriate. Officials have also said that he is no longer in American custody and that it is up to Mr. Bukele to return him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Last week, Mr. Van Hollen said that Mr. Abrego Garcia had recently been transferred out of a prison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center. On Sunday, the Justice Department <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2025\/04\/20\/us\/trump-news\/40b36608-f995-59ae-bb62-5f43608b18a3?smid=url-share\" title=\"\">filed an update in federal court<\/a> saying that Mr. Abrego Garcia had been moved to a detention facility called Centro Industrial in Santa Ana, El Salvador.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The visiting members of Congress had hoped for their own meeting with Mr. Abrego Garcia but said they had been denied access on the grounds that they had not come as part of an official visit. They complained of a lack of cooperation and information from both American and Salvadoran officials and called on officials to produce the incarceration contract between the Trump administration and El Salvador under which the country is holding U.S. deportees in its prison system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As Republicans seek to paint Democrats as unreasonably sympathetic to the cause of immigrants deported and jailed in Central America, the lawmakers sought to shift the focus to the administration\u2019s efforts to circumvent the law and court rulings in its deportation efforts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe got to be clear: This isn\u2019t just about him,\u201d Mr. Frost said, referring to Mr. Abrego Garcia. \u201cThis is also about every single person in the United States. The Constitution applies to all people in our country. Due process applies to all people in our country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Democrats also said they will hold meetings with human rights groups as they also request status updates on other deportees.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In an interview, Ms. Dexter, who said the administration was paying Mr. Bukele to hold the men under \u201cthe guise\u201d that they were criminals, asked: \u201cWhere are they? Are they healthy?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A New York Times investigation found that a majority of the 238 Venezuelan men flown to El Salvador last month as part of the same operation that swept up Mr. Abrego Garcia <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/15\/world\/americas\/trump-migrants-deportations.html\" title=\"\">did not have criminal records<\/a>. Many had been detained on evidence such as tattoos or clothing that authorities said symbolized gang membership.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Among the Venezuelans was Mr. Hernandez, the makeup artist, whose family said he identifies as gay, and who appears to have been held at the border on the basis of his tattoos.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis is our plea to the embassy here to confirm that he is alive,\u201d said Representative Garcia adding that the lawmakers had asked that they or his lawyers see him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Representative Ansari said deportations like Mr. Abrego Garcia\u2019s were relevant to many immigrants in her state, including Afghan refugees who might face deportation orders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe need Kilmar to come home,\u201d she told reporters at the news conference, \u201cbut we are also concerned that if this is allowed to fly, that the Trump administration will be emboldened to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Michael Gold<!-- --> contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/21\/us\/politics\/abrego-garcia-el-salvador-democrats.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Four House Democrats traveled to El Salvador on Monday to press for the release of a Maryland resident who was mistakenly deported there last month, and to demand updates on him and other migrants who are imprisoned there. The visit was the latest bid by Democrats in Congress to amplify the case of Kilmar Armando [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/04\/21\/multimedia\/21trump-news-el-salvador-jgwh\/21trump-news-el-salvador-jgwh-facebookJumbo-v9.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[221456,219704,223266,173343,223265,2685,5500,163575,28795,14075,164426,221455,219705,3693,24975,173344,191,58749,1628,52,128437,223264],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287161"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287161"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":287163,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287161\/revisions\/287163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}