The escalating legal standoff over President Donald Trump’s wrongful deportation of a man to El Salvador has become a political flashpoint on Capitol Hill.
Democrats’ Support for Kilmar Abrego Garcia
A growing number of Democrats are embracing the cause of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran native who had been living in Maryland before his removal last month. Some are lining up trips to El Salvador to press for his release — starting Wednesday with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who met with the country’s vice president.
More than just an isolated battle over one man’s deportation, Democrats view the current fight as the “constitutional crisis” they have been warning about after the Supreme Court ruled that the administration must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return. The Trump administration contends it is not legally obligated to arrange for his return even after acknowledging his deportation was in error.
Republican Support for Trump Administration
Meanwhile, congressional Republicans are lining up behind the Trump administration, which is locked in a heated federal court battle over Abrego Garcia’s return. They are trying to use those same trips to pivot from the legal fight to a proxy battle over illegal immigration — an issue the party believes plays to its favor.
The White House sees advantage in an immigration-focused fight and has “heavily encouraged pushback” from GOP lawmakers, according to a person granted anonymity to describe the private guidance. By Wednesday, more than a dozen had gone on the attack, including members of leadership.
Legal Battle and Political Ramifications
Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. illegally around 2011; he was arrested but not charged in 2019, and an immigration judge subsequently ruled he couldn’t be sent to his home country because of a fear of persecution, allowing him to live and work in the U.S. legally. The Trump administration acknowledged earlier this month it had deported him in error.
The hardening battle lines in Congress come as lawmakers are left stuck on the sidelines while the battle over Abrego Garcia plays out in court. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said on Tuesday that she is ordering an “intense” two-week inquiry into the Trump administration’s refusal to seek his return.
But the political fight is likely to grow. Van Hollen took the first of what is expected to be several trips by congressional Democrats to visit El Salvador in the coming days as they try to highlight Abrego Garcia’s detention and build pressure for his release.
International Relations and Legal Implications
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, on Wednesday linked Abrego Garcia’s legal fight to Trump’s flirtation with sending U.S. citizens who committed violent crimes to prisons in foreign countries.
Administration officials and congressional Republicans claim that Abrego Garcia is a member of the violent Salvadoran gang MS-13. He has never been charged with activities linked to the gang, and the federal judge overseeing his deportation case has called the evidence flimsy.
House Republicans took their own trip down to El Salvador this week to tour the prison, known as CECOT, where Abrego Garcia is being held. Several posted photos on social media that included prisoners in the background.
Future Implications and Political Backlash
Raskin predicted that the pressure would build to the point that the administration will be forced to comply with the courts, predicting “massive backlash in the country” and “international condemnation of what is taking place.” Van Hollen hinted the clash could bubble over into Congress’s funding fights, where Democrats could potentially seek to block any federal spending on deportations to El Salvador.
Not all Democrats are taking the scorched-earth approach, however. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), who co-chairs the bipartisan Congressional El Salvador Caucus and attended Bukele’s most recent inauguration, played to the Salvadoran president’s ego in a statement Wednesday urging him to release Abrego Garcia.
