{"id":1052522,"date":"2025-04-15T20:31:25","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T00:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1052522"},"modified":"2025-04-15T20:31:26","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T00:31:26","slug":"trump-refuses-to-return-illegally-deported-maryland-father-threatening-to-send-more-americans-to-salvadoran-prisons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-refuses-to-return-illegally-deported-maryland-father-threatening-to-send-more-americans-to-salvadoran-prisons\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Refuses to Return Illegally Deported Maryland Father, Threatening to Send More Americans To Salvadoran Prisons\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In response to Donald Trump ignoring the rule of law, <\/em>DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDonald Trump\u2019s disregard for the Supreme Court, the rule of law, and human decency shows the terrifying lengths he will go to fulfill his fantasy of becoming a \u2018dictator on day one.<\/a>\u2019 Trump is hiding behind self-described dictator<\/a> Nayib Bukele and refusing to return wrongfully-deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to his wife and five-year-old son. Now, Trump is threatening to round up American citizens and ship them to foreign prisons without due process. This is an all-out assault on our Constitution and our fundamental rights, and we must fight back.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats are traveling to El Salvador to demand Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele release Kilmar Abrego Garcia \u2014 a father from Maryland who Trump wrongly deported to a Salvadoran prison notorious for human rights abuses. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NBC News<\/a>: \u201cDemocratic lawmakers say they\u2019ll travel to El Salvador to push for Kilmar Abrego Garcia\u2019s release\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDemocratic lawmakers led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen say they are willing to go to El Salvador<\/strong> to seek the release of a man whom the Justice Department says it mistakenly deported there \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe idea gained support from several Democratic lawmakers<\/strong>, who said they would be willing to join [Van Hollen] on the trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018We must all stand as a united front against the kidnapping and illegal detention of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador,\u2019 progressive Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., said <\/strong>on X, tagging Van Hollen. \u2018Senator, I am willing to join you and help Organize other members of the House to do the same.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz<\/strong>., shared Frost\u2019s post, writing that she was \u2018ready to join\u2019 her colleagues in traveling to El Salvador<\/strong> to demand Abrego Garcia\u2019s release.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Robert Garcia<\/a>: \u201cWe need to go to El Salvador and demand the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. State Department, 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: El Salvador<\/a>: \u201cTorture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Other Related Abuses<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPrison conditions before the state of exception were harsh and life threatening due to gross overcrowding; inadequate sanitary conditions; insufficient food and water shortages; a lack of medical services in prison facilities; and physical attacks<\/strong>. \u2026 Human rights organizations reported that as of August 22, more than 70 detainees died in prisons from violence, insufficient medical care, and chronic health conditions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human Rights Watch<\/a>: \u201cAt least 189 detainees have died in prison<\/strong> during the state of emergency, human rights groups reported in October.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NBC News<\/a>: \u201cWhy experts fear the men who were sent to El Salvador’s megaprison may never make it out\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHundreds of Venezuelans who were deported to El Salvador from the United States in recent days could face long or indefinite detention in a prison system rife with human rights abuses, according to attorneys and experts on the region<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump is continuing his assault on the Constitution \u2014 doubling down on his threat to illegally send U.S. citizens to El Salvador\u2019s prisons, saying he \u201c<\/strong>would love<\/strong><\/a>\u201d to strip Americans of their constitutional rights. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reporter<\/a>: \u201cCould we use [El Salvador]<\/strong> for violent criminals, our own violent criminals?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump: \u201cI call them homegrown criminals.<\/strong> I mean the homegrowns \u2026 the ones that grew up and something went wrong \u2026 We are looking into it and we want to do it. I would love to do that.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reporter<\/a>: \u201cEl Salvador \u2014 The president there said he would be willing to take American citizens in federal prison population<\/strong>. Is that one of the ideas you\u2019re going to be discussing?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump: \u201cI love that<\/strong> \u2026 I would be honored to give them. \u2026 I have suggested that, you know, why shouldn\u2019t it stop just to people that cross the border illegally? \u2026 I think if we could get El Salvador or somebody to take them I’d be very happy with it.\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brennan Center For Justice<\/a>: \u201cEl Salvador\u2019s Offer to House U.S. Prisoners Is Illegal\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[I]t is still illegal under Trump\u2019s own touted First Step Act.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politico<\/a>: \u201cTrump floats sending Americans to foreign prisons. Civil rights groups say that would be illegal.\u201d<\/strong>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trump administration admitted they wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia \u2014 a legal resident with a wife and five-year-old son and no criminal record.   <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reuters<\/a>: \u201cThe U.S. has already acknowledged Kilmar Abrego Garcia <\/strong>– a Salvadoran migrant who lived in the U.S legally with a work permit –<\/strong> was deported in error <\/strong>last month \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbrego Garcia was wrongfully placed on the third flight despite an October 2019 judicial order granting him protection from deportation<\/strong>, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official has said in a court filing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ABC News<\/a>: \u201cLast month, Abrego Garcia, whose wife is a U.S. citizen and who has 5-year-old child<\/strong> \u2026 was sent on March 15 to El Salvador along with more than 200 Venezuelan men who the government claims are gang members.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newsweek<\/a>: \u201cKilmar Abrego Garcia<\/strong> is a 29-year-old father of two from Maryland who had lived in the United States since 2005 \u2026 had no criminal convictions\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump is hiding behind a <\/strong>\u201cself-described\u201d<\/strong><\/a> dictator and refusing to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Axios<\/a>: \u201c[El Salvador\u2019s President Nayib] Bukele \u2014 the self-described \u2018world’s coolest dictator\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NBC News<\/a>: \u201cTrump administration officials have argued that the situation is out of their hands now that Abrego Garcia is in the custody of another country.<\/strong> During his White House visit, Bukele called the question of returning the Maryland man \u2018preposterous.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trump administration has repeatedly flaunted the rule of law and ignored court orders, including from the Supreme Court. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reuters<\/a>: \u201cU.S. officials said in court filings on Sunday that they were not obligated to help a Maryland resident get out of prison in El Salvador<\/strong> after he was erroneously deported, despite a Supreme Court ruling directing the government to \u2018facilitate\u2019 his return to the United States.\u201d<\/strong>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reuters<\/a>: \u201cJudge orders return of wrongly deported Maryland man to US from El Salvador\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Axios<\/a>: \u201cExclusive: How the White House ignored a judge\u2019s order to turn back deportation flights\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CBS News<\/a>: \u201cU.S. sent 238 migrants to Salvadoran mega-prison; documents indicate most have no apparent criminal records<\/strong>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[T]hrough internal government documents, we have obtained a list of their identities and found that an overwhelming majority have no apparent criminal convictions or even criminal charges.<\/strong> \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmong them: a makeup artist, a soccer player and a food delivery driver<\/strong>, being held in a place so harsh that El Salvador\u2019s justice minister once said the only way out is in a coffin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In response to Donald Trump ignoring the rule of law, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement: \u201cDonald Trump\u2019s disregard for the Supreme Court, the rule of law, and human decency shows the terrifying lengths he will go to fulfill his fantasy of becoming a \u2018dictator on day one.\u2019 Trump is hiding behind self-described […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":293,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1052522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTrump Refuses to Return Illegally Deported Maryland Father, Threatening to Send More Americans To Salvadoran Prisons\u00a0 - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-refuses-to-return-illegally-deported-maryland-father-threatening-to-send-more-americans-to-salvadoran-prisons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-16T00:31:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-16T00:31:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shelby Reese\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shelby Reese\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-refuses-to-return-illegally-deported-maryland-father-threatening-to-send-more-americans-to-salvadoran-prisons\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-refuses-to-return-illegally-deported-maryland-father-threatening-to-send-more-americans-to-salvadoran-prisons\/\",\"name\":\"Trump Refuses to Return Illegally Deported Maryland Father, Threatening to Send More Americans To Salvadoran Prisons\u00a0 - 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