House Democrats land in El Salvador, demand Abrego Garcia’s return
Four House Democrats were scheduled to land in El Salvador Monday to demand the release and return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who lived in Maryland and was deported by the administration to a prison in El Salvador due to what the Trump administration an “administrative error.”
The group — Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., and Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore. — said in a statement they hope “to pressure” the White House “to abide by a Supreme Court order.”
“While Donald Trump continues to defy the Supreme Court, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being held illegally in El Salvador after being wrongfully deported,” Rep. Garcia said. “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.”
The Trump administration has refused to bring back Abrego Garcia despite a Supreme Court order to “facilitate” his return — and is receiving bipartisan criticism for it. The Salvadoran citizen entered the country illegally; an immigration judge said he should not be deported to El Salvador because Abrego Garcia was able to prove he was likely to suffer persecution in his home country. The Trump administration says it deported him because he was a member of MS-13; his lawyers deny that Abrego Garcia belongs to the gang.
The White House has said it can’t force the Salvadoran government to release one of its citizens, while El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele called the idea of Abrego Garcia’s release “preposterous.”
On Thursday, a federal court denied the Trump administration’s appeal of the court’s return-order.
Last week, Reps. Garcia and Frost requested congressional travel funds and security for the trip to El Salvador. Rep. James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, rejected the request. Rep. Mark Green, the Tennessee Republican who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said Thursday he’d also deny any such request.
The group’s visit to El Salvador is not a taxpayer funded CODEL trip.
The trip by House Democrats comes after a long and bipartisan series of visits to El Salvador by U.S. government officials. Starting in early February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Salvadoran President Bukele’s residence. In March, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem met with Bukele and visited CECOT. And in April, Rep. Riley Moore, R-W. Va., also went to the mega-prison. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, the Maryland Democrat, met with Abrego Garcia last week.
Human remains identified as Travis Decker, wanted for killing his daughters
Decker, an ex-soldier, was wanted for the murder of his three young daughters after they were found dead near a campground in June.
Trump to place import taxes on drugs, home furnishings and heavy trucks
President Trump said he will put import taxes of 100% on pharmaceutical drugs, 50% on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, 30% on upholstered furniture and 25% on heavy trucks starting on Oct. 1.
Alabama executes Geoffrey Todd West for the murder of Margaret Parrish Berry
The execution took place despite Berry's son's opposition to it and was marked by less movement than other nitrogen gas executions.
Ex-FBI Director James Comey indicted on criminal charges stemming from 2020 testimony
Comey faces one count of making false statements and one count of obstruction of justice in connection.
Hollywood now has dueling open letters over the Israel film boycott
Over 1,200 Hollywood figures, among them Liev Schreiber, Mayim Bialik and Sharon Osbourne, signed a letter on Thursday rejecting a previous call to boycott Israeli film groups.
Trump advances TikTok deal with new executive order
The new order says that the deal to turn over a majority stake in TikTok to a group of U.S. investors meets the terms ordered by Congress, and will allow it to stay online in the U.S.