- “As Members of Congress it is our responsibility to hold the President and Administration accountable for defying the constitution of the United States,” Rep. Max Frost said.
WASHINGTON − Four House Democrats traveled to El Salvador to demand the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man wrongly deported to the Central American country in what the White House initially acknowledged was an “administrative error.”
Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Oregon, who took the trip with Reps. Robert Garcia, D-California, Maxwell Frost, D-Florida and Yassamin Ansari, D-Arizona, told USA TODAY in a phone interview they were briefed by the U.S. embassy in El Salvador on April 21 about Abrego Garcia’s case.
“It was clear to me after our briefing that there is no reason to think any meaningful action has been taken to facilitate Mr. Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States, despite a direct action being requested from the Supreme Court to do so,” she said.
The Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” the release of Abrego Garcia, but the Justice Department has argued it does not have the authority to return him to the United States because he is in a foreign country.
Dexter said the lawmakers had sent a request through the embassy to meet with Abrego Garcia, but they were told it was denied. “I’m not sure what happened in the intermediary there. I can’t say for sure who denied it,” she said.
But, she added, “that will not deter me from continuing to advocate and to make sure that we keep this case front and center, because this family nightmare could be any nightmare if we allow the precedent to stand that due process and the rule of law has no meaning.”
The lawmakers have spoken with the counsel for Abrego Garcia’s family and counsel for “other individuals who have been detained and are here in El Salvador,” Dexter said.
Their trip comes on the heels of Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s journey to El Salvador last week, where he met with Abrego Garcia, who had been transferred from the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, to a prison with better conditions.
Van Hollen also met with Salvadoran Vice President Félix Ulloa to push for Abrego Garcia’s return.
Garcia and Frost had sent a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky, on April 15 requesting an official congressional delegation to “conduct a welfare check” on Abrego Garcia and detainees held at CECOT.
Comer denied their request and said in a follow-up letter that he would “not approve a single dime of taxpayer funds for use on the excursion” they requested.
“Chair Comer denied our request for an official trip to El Salvador to advocate for due process and the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Pretty shameful,” Frost wrote on X. “Good thing I don’t need Comer’s permission to get on a plane.”
The trip is not being financed by taxpayer dollars, according to a news release.
Frost said in a joint news conference with the other lawmakers on Monday that he was worried about his own constituents. “This isn’t just about (Abrego Garcia). This 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,” he said.
Abrego Garcia’s family lawyer Chris Newman was present at the conference.
Ansari said that the lawmakers had penned a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio “demanding daily proof of life” for Abrego Garcia, that he has access to counsel and that he is returned back to the U.S.
The Trump administration has alleged that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang; a federal judge discounted that claim last month. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has called Abrego Garcia a “terrorist.” Abrego Garcia has not been charged with a crime in the United States, and a federal immigration judge had barred the government from deporting him.
“Every person, even if they’re an immigrant, a migrant to the U.S. seeking asylum, they’re on some type of temporary status. They deserve a day in court and due process, and that’s why we’re here,” Rep. Garcia said at the news conference. “To ensure that the President of the United States follows the orders of the Supreme Court.”
He said that his team was going to have additional meetings with human rights groups on the ground.
Jennifer Vasquez Sura, Abrego Garcia’s wife, said in a statement that she was “deeply grateful to the members of Congress” for their efforts.
“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,” she added.
