SCOOP: Four More U.S. Lawmakers Touch Down in El Salvador
A self-funded congressional mission presses the Trump administration to comply with a unanimous Supreme Court ruling and restore due process for immigrants.
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — In a bold rebuke of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, four Democratic lawmakers—Reps. Robert Garcia (Calif.), Maxwell Frost (Fla.), Yassamin Ansari (Ariz.), and Maxine Dexter (Ore.)—arrived in El Salvador on Monday to demand the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man with protected legal status who was unlawfully deported by the Trump administration. The lawmakers’ visit, self-funded after Republican resistance to an official congressional delegation, underscores a growing constitutional crisis over the administration’s defiance of a unanimous Supreme Court ruling.
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Their trip follows a similar mission last week by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who visited El Salvador to press for Abrego Garcia’s return and met with local officials to discuss the broader implications of Trump’s deportation policies. Van Hollen’s efforts, which garnered a degree of bipartisan support in the Senate, amplified calls for accountability but yielded no immediate action from the administration, prompting the House group to escalate the issue with their presence.
During his visit, Van Hollen confirmed that Abrego Garcia had been moved from the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) mega-prison, known for human rights abuses, to a lower-security detention facility in Santa Ana, El Salvador, where conditions are reportedly better but where he remains in isolation without access to outside communication
Abrego Garcia, imprisoned in El Salvador despite no criminal convictions in the U.S., is at the heart of a legal battle that has galvanized critics of Trump’s immigration crackdown. The Supreme Court’s unanimous 9-0 decision in Noem v. Abrego Garcia ordered the administration to facilitate his return and ensure due process, a mandate Trump has openly disregarded. The administration acknowledged Abrego Garcia’s deportation as an “error” but has refused to comply with federal court orders, prompting accusations of executive overreach and comparisons to authoritarian tactics.
“Donald Trump continues to defy the Supreme Court, and Kilmar Abrego Garcia is paying the price,” Rep. Garcia said. “Kidnapping immigrants and deporting them without due process is not America. We’re here to demand justice.”
The lawmakers’ mission comes amid escalating tensions over Trump’s immigration policies, which have intensified since his return to the White House in January. His administration has ramped up deportations, often bypassing legal protections for immigrants with temporary protected status or other lawful designations. Reports of widespread detentions and deportations without due process have sparked protests across the U.S., with civil rights groups warning of a broader assault on constitutional norms.
Rep. Frost, the youngest member of Congress, framed the issue in stark terms. “This is a government-funded kidnapping program,” he said. “Trump and ICE are not above the law. Today it’s Kilmar, but tomorrow it could be anyone.”
The delegation’s visit also highlights the case of other detainees in El Salvador, many of whom, the lawmakers claim, were deported without legal recourse. Rep. Ansari, whose parents fled Iran’s authoritarian regime, drew a chilling parallel. “I refuse to watch people ‘disappeared’ in America,” she said. “Trump’s disregard for a unanimous Supreme Court ruling is a constitutional crisis. If this can happen to Kilmar, it can happen to any of us.”
Rep. Dexter echoed the urgency, calling Abrego Garcia’s case “not just one family’s nightmare, but a warning to every American.” She added, “We will not rest while due process is discarded.”
The lawmakers’ trip, undertaken without taxpayer funding after House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer blocked an official congressional delegation, reflects the deepening partisan divide over immigration. Republicans have largely defended Trump’s policies, arguing they restore order to a broken immigration system. Critics, however, see a dangerous erosion of the rule of law, with Trump’s threats to deport even U.S. citizens raising alarms about unchecked executive power.
As the group presses for Abrego Garcia’s return, their presence in El Salvador serves as both a protest and a plea. The lawmakers’ message is clear: the U.S. must uphold the principles it claims to champion. Whether their stand will sway an administration unyielding in its defiance remains uncertain, but for now, Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s fate hangs in the balance—a symbol of a nation at a constitutional crossroads.