A Tennessee Highway Patrol Officer said that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the illegal alien who was deported to a Salvadoran prison by the Trump administration over his MS-13 ties, was likely engaged in human trafficking in a newly released body camera video.
The illegal alien, infamously and inaccurately referred to as a “Maryland man,” was pulled over by Tennessee Highway Patrol Officers in 2022 after the law enforcement agents suspected that he could be smuggling people.
One officer is heard in the body camera footage saying that Abrego Garcia was “hauling these people for money.” Abrego Garcia, who was driving a car with eight other people in it, had an invalid Maryland driver’s license, while none of the other men had licenses.
“He’s getting paid to haul these people, probably to Maryland, I would say,” the officer said of Abrego Garcia, who changed his story during his interaction with the law enforcement agents. “Sometimes they come in with dope,” the officer added, while a different member of the Tennessee Highway Patrol pointed out that the vehicle Abrego Garcia was driving appeared to have an extra row of seats added to it.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
BREAKING: Body cam footage obtained by Tennessee Star shows Tennessee Trooper saying Kilmar Abrego Garcia &#8220;hauling these people for money&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/4FHWOIjSz5">pic.twitter.com/4FHWOIjSz5</a>
— Tennessee Star (@TheTNStar) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheTNStar/status/1918128053924122770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
The illegal alien first told law enforcement that he and the other men were “going back to work” in St. Louis, Missouri, where the men worked construction. Later in the encounter, Abrego Garcia said he was going to Maryland, where he lived, but that he and the other men would then return to St. Louis, Missouri, for a construction job. Abrego Garcia also said that he was driving his boss’ car from Houston, Texas.
The law enforcement officers asked Abrego to sit in the back of their patrol car, but did not handcuff him. The officers called the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), one source <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/tennessee-bodycam-maryland-man-traffic-stop-shows-troopers-hands-tied-despite-smuggling-clues">told</a> Fox News, but they did not receive a response from ICE and were advised by the Biden-era FBI not to detain Abrego Garcia despite their suspicion that he was trafficking illegal aliens.
The footage emerged after Abrego Garcia was sent to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a massive prison designed for members of criminal gangs like MS-13 and Barrio 18. His deportation became a political flashpoint, with Democrat politicians <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/more-democratic-lawmakers-visit-el-salvador-to-see-abrego-garcia-wrongly-deported-by-trump-administration">traveling</a> to the Central American country to visit the illegal alien and call for his return to the United States.
Newly released <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-darling-maryland-mans-wife-he-bragged-he-could-kill-me-and-get-away-with-it">court documents</a> indicate that Abrego Garcia bragged that he could murder his wife and get away with it. “Me and my kids are afraid now. He kicked me, pushed me, slapped me in the face and threatened me,” the illegal alien’s wife said, according to the document. “I also have a [recording] that [he] told my ex-mother-in-law that even if he kills me no one can do anything to him.”
The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration has to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States, but Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-officials-bukele-tear-into-cnn-reporter-who-asked-if-illegal-alien-will-be-returned-to-u-s?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=19&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Officials%2C+Bukele+Tear+Into+CNN+Reporter+Who+Asked+If+Illegal+Alien+Will+Be+Returned+To+U.S.">quashed</a> any speculation that he would send the man back to the United States in a meeting at the oval office last month. “The question is preposterous, how can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?”

Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Police Suspected ‘Maryland Man’ Of ‘Getting Paid’ To Traffic Illegals, Body Cam Footage Shows

Border

El Salvador

Illegal Immigration

Immigration

Tennessee

U.S.

Suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia — whose deportation to El Salvador by the Trump administration triggered a meltdown by Democrats — reportedly bragged he could kill his wife and get away with it.
Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wrote in an August 3, 2020 request for a motion for a protective order against him, “I also have a [recording] that [he] told my ex-mother-in-law that even if he kills me no one can do anything to him,” The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/04/30/us-news/kilmar-abrego-garcia-bragged-he-could-kill-his-wife-and-get-away-with-it-court-docs/">reported</a>. The document reportedly revolved around a fight over a phone Garcia took from her, during which he locked their children in their bedroom and locked her out of the house.
“Me and my kids are afraid now. He kicked me, pushed me, slapped me in the face and threatened me,” she reportedly stated in the document.
New bodycam footage has been released showing a Tennessee state trooper in 2022 stopping Garcia and openly suspecting him of human trafficking.
The footage acquired by Fox News Digital revealed that when law enforcement stopped Garcia for speeding, he had eight people in the car. “You’ve got a bunch of people here, don’t you?” the trooper said to Garcia. “Where you workin’ at?”
“St. Louis, Missouri,” Garcia answered. “Where do you live at?” the trooper asked. “I live in Maryland,” Garcia replied.
“You know what you got here,” the trooper stated after the confrontation. “He’s hauling these people for money. You got an 8-hauler, is what he’s doing. &#8230; He’s getting paid to haul these people, probably to Maryland, I would say.” One of the officers stopping Garcia could be seen making a phone call; a source told Fox News that on the call, the officer spoke to someone at the FBI who advised police not to detain Garcia. The source also said officers spoke to ICE, but they never showed up.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: We just got our hands on the bodycam footage of the “Maryland dad.” Kilmar Abrego Garcia was a suspect in a human trafficking operation in 2022. WATCH WHAT HAPPENED… <a href="https://t.co/Cot5ZHTUGz">pic.twitter.com/Cot5ZHTUGz</a>
&mdash; Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) <a href="https://twitter.com/JesseBWatters/status/1918115606345257219?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
Attorney General Pam Bondi has said that multiple courts have concluded that Garcia was a member of the deadly MS-13 gang.
“He was illegally in our country … and in 2019, two courts, an immigration court and an appellate immigration court, ruled that he was a member of MS-13,” Bondi said. “That’s up to El Salvador if they want to return him, that’s not up to us.&#8221;
President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has said he will not release Garcia.

Hispanic Caucus Members Demand Return Of Immigrant Deported To El Salvador Prison

Dem Darling ‘Maryland Man’s’ Wife: He Bragged He Could Kill Me And Get Away With It

Democrats

Donald Trump

MS-13 Gang

Nayib Bukele

Politics

Democrats Rallied Around A Dangerous Criminal Alien. Now They’re Paying The Price.

Democrats Rallied Around A Dangerous Criminal Alien. Now They're Paying The Price.

Leftists

Matt Walsh

Opinion

President Trump

Violent Crime

On Thursday, leftist Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) told a reporter to &#8220;f*** off&#8221; after he asked her about whether more Democrats should be vouching for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant and alleged MS-13 gang member deported to his home country of El Salvador.
Daily Caller News Foundation reporter Myles Morell shared a video on social media in which he introduced himself as Omar, along with a couple of other people, as they walked outdoors in his direction.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Today I tried to ask <a href="https://twitter.com/Ilhan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Ilhan</a> a question on behalf of The <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyCaller?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DailyCaller</a> News Foundation and she told me to “F**k off” twice. 
That was very unprofessional of her. Our elected officials should not be acting this way. <a href="https://t.co/8wPu566ZTt">pic.twitter.com/8wPu566ZTt</a>
&mdash; Myles Morell (@MylesMorell) <a href="https://twitter.com/MylesMorell/status/1917979446306312237?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Do you think more of your Democratic colleagues should be traveling to El Salvador to advocate on behalf of Abrego Garcia?” Morell asked.
&#8220;I think you should f*** off,&#8221; Omar replied as she and the others continued to walk down a sidewalk.
&#8220;I’m sorry, what congresswoman?&#8221; Morell asked.
Omar said, &#8220;You should f*** off.&#8221;
&#8220;Who should?&#8221; Morell pressed.
&#8220;You,&#8221; Omar said.
Morell asked, &#8220;Why me?&#8221;
Omar did not answer as she walked away. But one of the people she was with, apparently a staffer, told Morell they were &#8220;not taking any more questions right now.&#8221;
The exchange happened after Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and some other Democrats had travelled to El Salvador to push for the return of Abrego Garcia, whose lawyers have denied he is part of MS-13 — despite <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-senator-van-hollen-did-not-ask-deported-illegal-immigrant-ms-13" target="_blank" rel="noopener">documents</a> indicating otherwise.
On Wednesday, The Bulwark <a href="https://www.thebulwark.com/p/what-happened-to-democrats-trips-to-el-salvador-van-hollen-booker-jeffries-abrego-garcia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) was urging fellow Democrats to stop the trips to El Salvador amid an intra-party debate on how intensely they should clash with President Donald Trump on deportations. Jeffries later <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5277666-jeffries-report-el-salvador-trips/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denied</a> the report.
In <a href="https://x.com/MylesMorell/status/1917979446306312237" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posting</a> the video to X, Morell said of his exchange with Omar: &#8220;That was very unprofessional of her. Our elected officials should not be acting this way.&#8221;
Omar <a href="https://x.com/IlhanMN/status/1918003042865078515" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a> to a post from Libs of TikTok that contained the video.
&#8220;I said what I said. You and all your miserable trolls can f*** off,&#8221; she said.
Others commented on the video, which has gone viral on social media, with many criticizing Omar for her reaction to Morell.
&#8220;Reminder: Democrats say Donald Trump has lowered the tone of political rhetoric….&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/piersmorgan/status/1917992226031910958" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> British broadcaster Piers Morgan.
&#8220;This woman has no class, no gratitude to America, and no honor. Truly a disgrace to the US Congress,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1917992032897048623" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
&#8220;Nasty woman,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/TomiLahren/status/1917996429051630085" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> conservative commentator Tomi Lahren.
&#8220;This is an unhinged response to an entirely fair question. I think part of it is that Democrats are not used to being asked non-softball questions by Capitol Hill reporters,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/ChuckRossDC/status/1917993029966741572" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Washington Free Beacon investigative reporter Chuck Ross.
Omar, a member of the leftist Squad, is no stranger to controversy. She was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republicans-boot-ilhan-omar-off-foreign-affairs-committee-over-anti-semitism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">kicked off</a> the House Foreign Affairs Committee in 2023 for comments she made about Israel. Last year, Omar faced a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-republican-unveils-censure-resolution-against-ilhan-omar-after-remark-about-some-jewish-students-being-pro-genocide" target="_blank" rel="noopener">censure</a> threat for suggesting that some Jewish students were “pro-genocide,&#8221; but it did not come to pass.

Congresswomen Ilhan Omar

Ilhan Omar Tells Reporter To ‘F*** Off’, Gets Blasted For ‘Unhinged Response’

Congress

Ilhan Omar

U.S. House of Representatives

President Trump’s signal policy — and the one that is working the best for him — is immigration.
Polling shows that President Trump&#8217;s immigration policy is highly popular. It&#8217;s not just because Americans are sick and tired of the open borders policy of the Biden administration. It&#8217;s also because Democrats continue to take the worst possible tack when it comes to this sort of stuff.
The tack they should be taking on immigration right now is that President Trump is right to close the border, that he is correct to unleash ICE, to go find criminal illegal immigrants and deport them — but we need to obey the law.
That would be the intelligent approach to this particular issue. But Democrats have decided that the smart approach is to shove their heads directly up their own a**es. What that means is that they are instead going out of their way to praise MS-13 members and suggest that President Trump is wrong to try and deport all of those people.
This led to the awkward situation of absolute dolt Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland — who has the IQ of a turnip — going down to El Salvador to meet with a man named Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is a suspected MS-13 member and whose wife accused him of allegedly beating her.
Garcia was deported to El Salvador, but the Trump DOJ said it was a processing issue mistake. Thus, Democrats should have said, “Listen, everyone deserves due process. If you are here on a green card, you deserve whatever the due process is for a green card holder. If you are here as an illegal immigrant, you deserve whatever due process is available to you under the law. Due process shouldn&#8217;t be violated; it&#8217;s sacrosanct in the United States.”
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2183-pope-francis-dead-what-comes-next-member-exclusive?elementPosition=2&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
That&#8217;s the argument they should have made. Instead, because they have an internal emotional necessity to valorize people who are “victims” of the Trump administration, they&#8217;ve decided to treat people who are actually quite bad with Sympathy. This led to the awkward spectacle of Chris Van Hollen being asked if the person he visited down in El Salvador and had drinks with was a member of MS-13.
And he couldn’t answer the question.
“What Donald Trump is trying to do here is change the subject,” Van Hollen <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/tv/van-hollen-deflects-twice-after-cnns-dana-bash-asks-point-blank-if-abrego-garcia-is-a-member-of-ms-13/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told CNN’s Dana Bash</a>. “The subject at hand is that he and his administration are defying a court order to give Abrego Garcia his due process rights. They are trying to litigate on social media what they should be doing in the courts. They need to put up or shut up in the courts.”
“But since you were the one person to have met with him and since this is a thing, you say, on social media, it&#8217;s what we hear from Donald Trump and Republicans every day all day long, you didn&#8217;t ask him?” Bash asked.
“I didn&#8217;t ask him that because I know what his answer is,” Van Hollen answered. “What he told me was he was sad and traumatized that he was being imprisoned because he has committed no crimes.”
“Sad and traumatized,” says the likely MS-13 member. You can see Van Hollen trying to backtrack and turn it into a due process argument, which is a better argument for Democrats. 
The Supreme Court, over the course of the last 72 hours, handed out <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/19/politics/supreme-court-alien-enemies-act-order/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an order</a> for the Trump administration to respond to an emergency appeal and stated, “The government is directed not to remove any members of the putative class detainees from the United States until further order of this Court.”
Those would be the people being detained under the so-called Alien Enemies Act, which is an 18th-century law designed to allow the expeditious removal of people who are declared wartime enemies by the executive branch of the government.
There was <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a1007_22p3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a dissent</a> by Justices Alito and Justice Thomas, saying:
<blockquote>Shortly after midnight yesterday, the Court hastily and prematurely granted unprecedented emergency relief. &#8230; Although the order does not define the “putative class,” it appears the Court means all members of the class that the habeas petitioners sought to have certified, namely “all non-citizens in custody in the Northern District of Texas who were, are, or would be subject to the March 2025 Presidential Proclamation entitled “Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of the United States by Tren de Aragua and/or its implementation.</blockquote>
Alito and Thomas criticized the Court for doing all this by saying that even though it&#8217;s not clear the court had jurisdiction, it&#8217;s questionable whether the applicants complied with their obligation to seek emergency injunctive relief in the district court, and that the Court of Appeals is already considering the issue of emergency relief.
They wrote:
<blockquote>The papers before us, while alleging that the applicants were in imminent danger of removal, provided little concrete support for that allegation. …In sum, literally in the middle of the night, the Court issued unprecedented and legally questionable relief without giving the lower courts a chance to rule, without hearing from the opposing party, within eight hours of receiving the application, with dubious factual support for its order, and without providing any explanation for its order. I refused to join the Court’s order because we had no good reason to think that, under the circumstances, issuing an order at midnight was necessary or appropriate. </blockquote>
I think what the rest of the Court would say is, “We wouldn&#8217;t think that was necessary or appropriate either, except for the fact that we&#8217;ve now had situations in which the Trump administration has allegedly ignored the orders of lower courts not to do a deportation and, instead, went ahead with the deportation.”
That&#8217;s the argument being made on the other side of the aisle.
One of the things that should become clear to Republicans at this point is that doing things in meticulous fashion is likely to lead to longer-lasting victories than doing them as one-offs and in quick fashion. That’s because, when it comes to morality, the Trump administration is not only correct, they are unbelievably correct.
Tom Homan, our bulldog border czar, slammed Van Hollen for his sympathy for MS-13 members, <a href="https://grabien.com/story?id=523850" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a>, “What shocks me is that he’s remained silent on the travesty that happened on our southern border. Many people die. Thousands of people die. I met with hundreds of angel moms and dads who buried their children that were murdered by an illegal alien. How many angel moms and dads has he met in the state of Maryland? That&#8217;s what concerns me.”
When it comes to the politics of immigration, Republicans are absolutely right.
But, in addition, if they practice the law correctly, they’ll have longer-lasting victories, because otherwise many of the things they are trying to do might get reversed on appeal, and that would be bad for the Trump administration.
I&#8217;m rooting for the Trump administration to do everything correctly so its policies work to their utmost.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen Meets With Wrongly Imprisoned Man Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia in El Salvador

Deportation, Due Process, And Democrat Delusions

Ben Shapiro

Due Process

Maryland

Supreme Court

U.S. Senate

On Monday, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) announced it would cover travel costs for House Democrats to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador amid his wrongful deportation lawsuit — on one condition.
&#8220;The NRCC is offering to pick up the tab for any House Democrat eager to hang out with their new poster child in El Salvador, a confirmed illegal immigrant, MS-13 gang member, and alleged domestic abuser,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;We just have one condition: Livestream the whole thing. Snap plenty of selfies with your MS-13 buddies — the same violent criminals you’re trying to reimport into American neighborhoods to rape, kill, and terrorize law-abiding citizens.&#8221;
NRCC&#8217;s statement linked to a <a href="https://x.com/KatiePavlich/status/1912616487744950580" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on X about Abrego Garcia, whom the Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/facilitate-not-effectuate-wh-responds-to-scotus-ruling-on-mistakenly-deported-salvadoran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accuses</a> of being a member of MS-13. Abrego Garcia&#8217;s attorneys <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/1/abrego-garcia-v-noem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deny</a> the claim, but the government has released <a href="https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1396906/dl?inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">documents</a> to substantiate the affiliation. A 2021 restraining order <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/deported-illegal-immigrant-who-dems-have-championed-accused-of-beating-wife-court-docs?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News+and+Commentary&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Deported+Illegal+Immigrant+Who+Dems+Have+Championed+Accused+Of+Beating+Wife%3A++Court+Docs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shows</a> Abrego Garcia was accused of beating his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, who now says they worked through the incident.
“If out of touch House Democrats are so desperate to cozy up to violent gang members, the least they can do is let Americans watch the show. We’ll pay for the plane tickets, they just can’t forget to smile for the camera while they sell out their constituents,&#8221; said NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella.
The NRCC released its statement on the same day that four House Democrats <a href="https://x.com/AnthonyAdragna/status/1914298706561552550" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrived</a> in El Salvador to &#8220;pressure&#8221; the Trump administration to abide by a Supreme Court order to &#8220;facilitate&#8221; Abrego Garcia&#8217;s return to the United States. C-SPAN&#8217;s Craig Caplan <a href="https://x.com/CraigCaplan/status/1914337664402079985" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> the Democrats&#8217; offices said their trip &#8220;is not being financed by taxpayer dollars&#8221; after House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-leaders-deny-taxpayer-money-for-dems-to-make-el-salvador-prison-trip" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rejected</a> a <a href="https://robertgarcia.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-robert-garcia-and-congressman-maxwell-frost-demand-oversight-codel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">request</a> for a Congressional Member Delegation (CODEL) to El Salvador.
&#8220;We have arrived in El Salvador. [President Donald] Trump is illegally arresting, jailing, &amp; deporting people with no due process. We must hold the Administration accountable for these illegal acts and demand Kilmar’s release. Today it’s him, tomorrow it could be anyone else,&#8221; Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) <a href="https://x.com/MaxwellFrostFL/status/1914321852920479774" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) took a swipe at Frost and his Democrat colleagues who made the journey to El Salvador.
&#8220;Today, House Democrats travel to El Salvador as part of their obsession to bring a violent illegal alien and member of MS-13 BACK INTO the United States,&#8221; Johnson <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1914390276266975378" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;Could the contrast be more clear? House Republicans remain committed to doing everything we can to protect American families and keep dangerous gang members OUT of our country.&#8221;
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) travelled to El Salvador last week to check on Abrego Garcia, whom he claims is a Maryland &#8220;constituent.&#8221; A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sipping-margaritas-dem-senator-finally-meets-deported-illegal-immigrant-in-el-salvador" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meeting</a> took place on Thursday evening. Van Hollen later <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1913954303418474622" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conceded</a> during an interview on &#8220;Fox News Sunday&#8221; that his trip to El Salvador was funded by taxpayer dollars.

Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL)

GOP Offers To Pay For Dem Trips To El Salvador — On One Condition

Illegal Immigation

Mike Johnson

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) issued a stark warning to El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele and other foreign leaders, cautioning that Democrats will not &#8220;look kindly&#8221; on those who cooperate with President Donald Trump when they return to power.
In a recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxYsbcWdjS0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">episode</a> of &#8220;Pod Save America,&#8221; Raskin spoke with host and former Obama aide Tommy Vietor about the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant living in Maryland who was deported and sent to prison in his home country of El Salvador despite a 2019 court order prohibiting him from being sent back there. While at a White House meeting with Trump last week, Bukele <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-meeting-trump-white-house/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> his nation will not send Abrego Garcia back to the United States, even after the Supreme Court upheld an order for the federal government to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/facilitate-not-effectuate-wh-responds-to-scotus-ruling-on-mistakenly-deported-salvadoran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;facilitate&#8221;</a> his return.
Vietor said a &#8220;Latin America policy expert&#8221; suggested to him that &#8220;Democrats should threaten to take action against any foreign government that participates in the extraordinary rendition of American citizens.&#8221; He listed cutting off future aid and seeking to prosecute foreign officials as possible forms of retaliation.
Raskin, who is the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said he liked the idea, calling it a &#8220;complement to something that we need to be doing right now, which is engaging in far more work of transnational democratic solidarity with the democratic governments and the democratic movements and peoples and parties of the world to try to prevent the spread of the lawlessness and the fascist chaos that&#8217;s been unleashed against us.&#8221;
&#8220;But implicit in it,&#8221; Raskin continued, &#8220;should be the idea that if and when we come back to power — and we will — we are not going to look kindly upon people who facilitated &#8230; authoritarianism in our country. That&#8217;s an assault on our Constitution and on our people.&#8221;
The comment prompted rebukes from some of Trump&#8217;s GOP allies on X.
&#8220;[Raskin] says he will go after Trump officials when he returns to power. They haven’t learned a single lesson,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/RichardGrenell/status/1913810950060380439" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quipped</a> Richard Grenell, who is Trump&#8217;s special presidential envoy for special missions and interim director of the Kennedy Center.
&#8220;They aren&#8217;t coming into power any time soon if things continue as they are&#8230; that&#8217;s the only silver lining in their chaos and lunacy,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/NancyMace/status/1914352540575048113" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-border-czar-tears-into-dem-senator-van-hollen-for-el-salvador-trip" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump Border Czar Tears Into Dem Senator Van Hollen For El Salvador Trip</a>

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD)

Raskin Threatens Countries Working With Trump, Says Dems Will Retaliate ‘When We Come Back To Power’

Global Politics

Jamie Raskin

The political and legal battle escalates over an alleged member of a violent gang deported to El Salvador. RFK Jr. launches a series of studies into the causes of autism, prompting both condemnation and praise. And, Democrats take aim at President Donald Trump over his call for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, while Trump touts key economic wins.
It’s Monday, April 21, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rfk-jr-takes-on-autism-fed-fight-4-21-25/id1576594336?i=1000704280091" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
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<h2>Deportation Debate Continues</h2>
<div id="attachment_909961" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-909961" class="size-large wp-image-909961" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2210280248-864x576.jpg" alt="Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D) takes questions during a press conference after returning from El Salvador, where he met with wrongly deported Maryland man Kilmar Abrego Garcia, on April 18, 2025 at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, VA." width="864" height="576" />(Photo by Pete Kiehart for The Washington Post via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is back stateside after visiting suspected gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador.
Van Hollen returned from El Salvador over the weekend after meeting with suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador last week. Garcia was detained and deported to a megaprison there along with more than 200 other suspected gang members last month. Critics have argued that Garcia’s due process rights were violated, and a federal judge has ordered that he be brought back to the United States immediately. The Trump administration has insisted that the matter is out of its hands – and that, gang member or not, Garcia is an illegal alien and should have been deported anyway.
“My goal was to meet with [Abrego Garcia] and make sure I could tell his wife and family he was OK,” Van Hollen told ABC.
When questioned about Garcia’s alleged connection to MS-13, Van Hollen deflected.
“What Donald Trump is trying to do here is change the subject,” Van Hollen <a href="https://x.com/westernlensman/status/1913945751824240693">said</a>. “The subject at hand is that he and his administration are defying a court order to give Abrego Garcia his due process rights. They are trying to litigate on social media what they should be doing in the courts… What [Garcia] told me was he was sad and traumatized that he was being imprisoned because he has committed no crimes, and that goes to the heart of this issue.”
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<h2>RFK Commissions New Studies of Autism &#8216;Epidemic&#8217; </h2>
<div id="attachment_910057" style="width: 880px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-910057" class="size-large wp-image-910057" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Autism-870x576.jpg" alt="" width="870" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Autism-870x576.jpg 870w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Autism-300x199.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Autism-768x508.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Autism-1536x1017.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Autism-2048x1356.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px" />(Photo by Nora Carol Photography via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is commissioning a series of studies to investigate potential environmental factors that might contribute to autism.
RFK Jr. commissioned the new studies shortly after previous data were released indicating a surge in autism diagnoses in recent years.
“The autism epidemic is running rampant,” Kennedy <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/autism-epidemic-runs-rampant-new-data-shows-grants.html">said</a>.  “One in 31 American children born in 2014 are disabled by autism. That’s up significantly from two years earlier and nearly five times higher than when the CDC first started running autism surveys<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5601a1.htm"> in children born in 1992</a>.. Prevalence for boys is an astounding 1 in 20 and in California it’s 1 in 12.5.”
“President Trump has tasked me with identifying the root causes of the childhood chronic disease epidemic &#8212; including autism,” Secretary Kennedy continued. “We are assembling teams of world-class scientists to focus research on the origins of the epidemic, and we expect to begin to have answers by September.”
The Autism Society of America actually <a href="https://autismsociety.org/statement-on-robert-f-kennedy-jr-s-comments-regarding-the-cause-of-autism-and-misleading-deadline/">condemned</a> Kennedy for those remarks, calling them “harmful, misleading, and unrealistic.” The organization said that autism is a “complex developmental disability” and it’s “neither a chronic illness nor a contagion, that qualifies harmful language like ‘epidemic.’”
Another autism organization, <a href="https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-causes-autism">Autism Speaks</a>, has suggested that the rise in autism cases is largely due to better screening, better understanding of the disorder, and therefore a higher diagnosis rate. The organization said that other genetic and environmental factors are still being studied, but they likely account for only a small part of the increase. Kennedy believes that’s flipped, and that only a small portion of the increase can be attributed to a better diagnostic process.
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<h2>Economic Update</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-910059" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/The-Federal-Reserve-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/The-Federal-Reserve-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/The-Federal-Reserve-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/The-Federal-Reserve-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/The-Federal-Reserve-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/The-Federal-Reserve-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/The-Federal-Reserve-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/The-Federal-Reserve-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></div>
Topline: Democrats are up in arms about President Trump&#8217;s latest economic moves, but Team Trump says he&#8217;s doing exactly what Americans elected him to do.
Democrats are accusing Trump of crossing the line by pressuring the Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, to lower interest rates. Powell appears to be digging in, while the president is now openly saying his termination can’t come soon enough.  Powell’s term is scheduled to end May 15, 2026. Trump’s team is reportedly looking into whether there are ways to remove Powell early. Democrats argue that this is an unprecedented violation of the balance of powers.
“There’s a reason we have an independent Fed,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) told CNN. “It has served us well through many crises, through downturns, through depressions, through the pandemic. They’re able to respond and stabilize things. And what Jerome Powell is doing right now is warning that these tariffs are having a huge destabilizing effect on our economy and hurting everyday people. And that’s going to affect decisions that the Fed makes. That’s his job and he’s doing it.”
Meanwhile: Trump is maintaining his pause of higher tariffs for most countries – except China – for 90 days, and he’s set a 10% baseline tariff on imports to encourage negotiations. The Trump administration says at least 75 countries have reached out to negotiate at this point. As we’ve reported, the major outlier is China, which has escalated tariffs in response. A few days ago, Trump indicated an openness to making a deal to protect consumers, but no talks with Xi Jinping have been confirmed yet. 
Japanese negotiators met with U.S. officials recently, with Trump citing “big progress.” Toyota is considering shifting RAV4 production to the United States to mitigate the impact of tariffs. Likewise, Trump reported a “great call” with South Korea focusing on steel and automobiles. Vietnam has also offered to remove all tariffs on U.S. goods. Discussions with India are also in progress, with India angling for a bilateral trade agreement to boost trade to $500 billion by 2030.
The European Union has paused retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. and is advocating for a zero-tariff agreement. As for the UK, talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer are ongoing, with Vice President JD Vance expressing optimism that any deal they reach will be mutually beneficial.

US deports 17 gang-linked criminals in joint operation with El Salvador

Morning Brief: Deportee Battle Escalates, RFK Jr. Takes On Autism & Trump’s Fed Fight

Deportations

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Tariffs

A top Republican in Congress rejected on Sunday CNN anchor Dana Bash&#8217;s assertion that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant deported from the United States and sent to prison in his home country of El Salvador, has been robbed of due process.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) shot back after Bash began an <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/20/politics/video/sotu-majority-whip-emmer-defends-trump-handling-of-brego-garcia-deportation-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> on &#8220;State of the Union&#8221; by pressing the lawmaker on the case of Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old living in Maryland who was sent back to El Salvador last month despite a 2019 court order prohibiting him from being sent back to the country.
&#8220;I want to start with what the core issue is here. And that is the fact that the administration detained and deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia without any due process, violated a judge&#8217;s deportation protection order, refused to provide evidence in court to back up its allegations. Does that concern you?&#8221; Bash asked.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/GOPMajorityWhip?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GOPMajorityWhip</a>: &#8220;President Trump made it very clear — [he&#8217;s] going to get rid of the gang members, the murderers, the rapists, the terrorists &#8230; and I think they&#8217;re doing a good job of it.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/n7U5zjan5x">pic.twitter.com/n7U5zjan5x</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1913948030983700628?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Actually, if you look at this, it&#8217;s very interesting when people talk about the fact that this illegal alien, who is not a resident of the U.S. — he is a citizen of El Salvador — actually did have due process in an asylum hearing, where his request for asylum was rejected,&#8221; Emmer said, noting how Abrego Garcia was granted protection from being returned to El Salvador in 2019 due to concerns about local gangs endangering him, but not asylum.
&#8220;The Trump administration, as part of the promise that they made during the campaign, President Trump made it very clear, I&#8217;m going to get rid of the gang members, the murderers, the rapists, the terrorists. And this is part of that process in keeping that campaign promise. And I think they&#8217;re doing a good job at it,&#8221; Emmer said.
Emmer was alluding to how the Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/facilitate-not-effectuate-wh-responds-to-scotus-ruling-on-mistakenly-deported-salvadoran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accuses</a> Abrego Garcia of being a member of MS-13, which has been <a href="https://www.state.gov/designation-of-international-cartels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">designated</a> as a foreign terror organization, and has released <a href="https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1396906/dl?inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">documents</a> to substantiate the affiliation. Abrego Garcia&#8217;s attorneys <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/1/abrego-garcia-v-noem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deny</a> the claim.
&#8220;There&#8217;s no evidence that was provided because there was no hearing in which to do so that he is either a murderer or a criminal or a gang member,&#8221; Bash replied. &#8220;Isn&#8217;t that something that should be provided to a judge, even an immigration judge, before somebody who has been in this country illegally, no question, but has been in this country and has appeared before judges before should be afforded?&#8221;
Emmer responded, &#8220;Actually, I think he was afforded that due process. In this case, an illegal alien was transported back to El Salvador. The administration initially thought it was a mistake, subsequently says it was not a mistake. The courts, interestingly, have suggested that we need to understand what &#8216;facilitate&#8217; means in the order. So they have deferred back to the lower court, Dana, to tell the administration, &#8216;facilitate&#8217; means this. And what&#8217;s going on in El Salvador now is, you have a citizen of El Salvador that is within the country of El Salvador. It really isn&#8217;t the U.S.&#8217; ability to go in and remove someone. It&#8217;ll be up to the president of El Salvador.&#8221;
Bash later read from a federal appeals court <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca4.178400/gov.uscourts.ca4.178400.8.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">order</a> refusing to stop a judge’s demand for Trump administration officials to testify on whether they are making an effort to &#8220;facilitate&#8221; getting Garcia back, saying, &#8220;The government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order &#8230; This should be shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear.&#8221;
Asked for his response, Emmer said, &#8220;Yes, and it&#8217;s been referred to the lower court to interpret what &#8216;facilitate&#8217; means. Dana, you make it — you want to make it about a much bigger thing. This is isolated incidents like the order that was issued after midnight this morning saying that they&#8217;re going to delay some deportations so that the lower court process can continue. These will happen on a case-by-case basis. And, again, the administration is absolutely following the law. I see nothing that they have done that&#8217;s illegal. Certainly, judges may disagree here and there, but the Supreme Court has been pretty good about supporting what this administration is doing legally.&#8221;

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn

Top Republican Takes On CNN Anchor’s Claim That Abrego Garcia Did Not Get Due Process

On Sunday, Trump border czar Tom Homan condemned Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) for making a taxpayer funded trip to El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant who was deported from the United States last month.
Homan redirected a question from ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week&#8221; by anchor Jonathan Karl when pressed about Abrego Garcia, who has been imprisoned in El Salvador, his home country. Abrego Garcia&#8217;s legal team has been <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/1/abrego-garcia-v-noem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fighting</a> the federal government in a high-profile court to secure his return to the United States. Van Hollen, who claims Abrego Garcia is a Maryland “constituent” who endured an &#8220;abduction and unlawful deportation,&#8221; met the man on Thursday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/RealTomHoman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RealTomHoman</a> : &quot;A U.S. senator traveled to El Salvador on taxpayers&#39; dime to meet with a MS-13 gang member &#8230; How many Angel Moms and Dads has he met in the state of Maryland?&quot; <a href="https://t.co/dkpuxWGIMn">pic.twitter.com/dkpuxWGIMn</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1913956139504480315?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Sen. Van Hollen is — obviously got a chance to meet with [Abrego Garcia], but he had to travel to El Salvador to get any information. Is (sic) that concern you at all? I mean, these are people sent by — I mean, in his case, sent by the United States, and not even a U.S. senator could get any information about his whereabouts, or the condition of his incarceration, without actually going down and making the trip to El Salvador himself?&#8221; Karl asked.
&#8220;Well, he obviously knew his whereabouts, because he went there to see him. But you know, what bothers me more than that is a U.S. senator traveled to El Salvador on taxpayer dime to meet with an MS-13 gang member, public safety threat, terrorist. I mean, in the meantime, the day before he traveled, an illegal alien was arrested for murder, was released to the streets rather than honoring an ICE detainer in his very own state,&#8221; Homan retorted.
The Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/facilitate-not-effectuate-wh-responds-to-scotus-ruling-on-mistakenly-deported-salvadoran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accuses</a> Abrego Garcia of being a member of MS-13, which has been <a href="https://www.state.gov/designation-of-international-cartels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">designated</a> as a foreign terror organization, and has released <a href="https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1396906/dl?inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">documents</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-senator-van-hollen-did-not-ask-deported-illegal-immigrant-ms-13" target="_blank" rel="noopener">photo</a> evidence to substantiate the affiliation. Abrego Garcia&#8217;s attorneys <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/1/abrego-garcia-v-noem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deny</a> the claim.
On CNN, Van Hollen <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-senator-van-hollen-did-not-ask-deported-illegal-immigrant-ms-13" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dared</a> the Trump administration to bring up the gang affiliation claim in Abrego Garcia’s ongoing deportation case. The senator also <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1913954303418474622" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conceded</a> during an interview on &#8220;Fox News Sunday&#8221; that his trip to El Salvador was funded by taxpayer dollars.
Homan went on to criticize Van Hollen over the border crisis during President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration.
&#8220;What concerns me is Van Hollen never went to the border the last four years under Joe Biden, when he had a 600% increase in sex trafficking in women and children,&#8221; Homan said. &#8220;You have a record number of known inspected terrorists crossing that border. You had a quarter of a million Americans die from fentanyl overdose because of the open border. You had over 4,000 illegal aliens died making that journey, which is an historic record. What shocks me is he&#8217;s remained silent on the travesty that happened on the southern border. Many people died, thousands of people died. I met with hundreds of Angel moms and dads who buried their children that were murdered by illegal aliens. How many Angel moms and dads has he met in the state of Maryland? That&#8217;s what concerns me.&#8221;
Last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-calls-surprise-briefing-with-patty-morin-whose-daughter-was-killed-by-illegal-alien?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=White+House+Calls+Surprise+Briefing+With+Patty+Morin%2C+Whose+Daughter+Was+Killed+By+Illegal+Alien" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> Van Hollen and other Democrats who have rallied in support of Abrego Garcia during a press briefing alongside <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-the-briefing-room-an-angel-mom-begs-white-house-media-to-tell-the-truth-about-illegal-crime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Patty Morin</a>, whose daughter, Rachel, 37, was raped and murdered in Maryland two years ago by another illegal immigrant from El Salvador.
“It’s appalling and sad that Senator Van Hollen and the Democrats applauding his trip to El Salvador today are incapable of having any shred of common sense or empathy for their own constituents and our citizens,” Leavitt said.

US Border Czar Tom Homan

Trump Border Czar Tears Into Dem Senator Van Hollen For El Salvador Trip

Border Crisis

Tom Homan

Trump Administration

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said on Sunday he did not bother to press Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant deported from the United States and sent to prison in his home country of El Salvador, to answer whether he is or has ever been a member of MS-13 when the two met last week.
The Democrat, who contends that Abrego Garcia is a “constituent” of Maryland who was unlawfully deported, told CNN&#8217;s Dana Bash he did not ask &#8220;because I know what his answer is: what he told me was he was sad and traumatized that he was being in prison because he has committed no crimes, and that goes to the heart of this issue because he&#8217;s being denied his due process rights.&#8221;
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BASH: “Can you say with absolute certainty that he is not, nor has he ever been a member of the MS-13 gang, and did you ask him point blank?”
VAN HOLLEN: “What Donald Trump is trying to do here is change the subject. The subject at hand is that he and his administration are… <a href="https://t.co/QlXZZANLXf">pic.twitter.com/QlXZZANLXf</a>
&mdash; State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/1913945462542942658?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old living in Maryland, was detained and deported to El Salvador last month <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-blasts-legacy-media-for-focusing-on-deported-salvadoran-ignoring-angel-mom-patty-morin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">despite</a> a 2019 court order prohibiting him from being sent back to the country. His legal team has been <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/1/abrego-garcia-v-noem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fighting</a> the federal government in a high-profile court to secure his return to the United States.
The Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/facilitate-not-effectuate-wh-responds-to-scotus-ruling-on-mistakenly-deported-salvadoran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accuses</a> Abrego Garcia of being a member of MS-13, which has been <a href="https://www.state.gov/designation-of-international-cartels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">designated</a> as a foreign terror organization, and has released <a href="https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1396906/dl?inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">documents</a> to substantiate the affiliation. Among them was a 2019 interview sheet in which police wrote that a confidential informant identified Abrego Garcia as a member of the gang. Abrego Garcia&#8217;s attorneys <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/1/abrego-garcia-v-noem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deny</a> the claim.
After Van Hollen met with Abrego Garcia on Thursday, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele posted photos of the encounter on X. One photo <a href="https://x.com/nayibbukele/status/1913028548001923259" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showed</a> there were tattoos on the knuckles of Abrego Garcia&#8217;s left hand, a possible sign of gang membership.
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the “death camps” &amp; “torture”, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!🍹 <a href="https://t.co/r6VWc6Fjtn">pic.twitter.com/r6VWc6Fjtn</a>
&mdash; Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) <a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1913028548001923259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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President Donald Trump then posted on social media a photo of himself holding a photo of a hand. It was titled &#8220;Kilmar Abrego Garcia MS-13 Tattoo&#8221; and showed a close-up picture of a hand with a cannabis leaf, smiley face, cross, and skull tattooed across four knuckles. In his post, Trump alluded to the 2019 immigration case and a 2021 restraining order that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/deported-illegal-immigrant-who-dems-have-championed-accused-of-beating-wife-court-docs?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News+and+Commentary&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Deported+Illegal+Immigrant+Who+Dems+Have+Championed+Accused+Of+Beating+Wife%3A++Court+Docs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shows</a> Abrego Garcia was accused of beating his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, who now says they worked through the incident.
&#8220;This is the hand of the man that the Democrats feel should be brought back to the United States, because he is such &#8216;a fine and innocent person.&#8217; They said he is not a member of MS-13, even though he’s got MS-13 tattooed onto his knuckles, and two Highly Respected Courts found that he was a member of MS-13, beat up his wife, etc. I was elected to take bad people out of the United States, among other things. I must be allowed to do my job. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!&#8221;
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This is the hand of the man that the Democrats feel should be brought back to the United States, because he is such “a fine and innocent person.” They said he is not a member of MS-13, even though he’s got MS-13 tattooed onto his knuckles, and two Highly Respected Courts found… <a href="https://t.co/31sNr2k1SK">pic.twitter.com/31sNr2k1SK</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1913358867708493982?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
Van Hollen insisted that the president is trying to distract people and dared the Trump administration to bring up the gang affiliation claim in Abrego Garcia&#8217;s ongoing deportation case.
&#8220;He and his administration are defying a court order to give Abrego Garcia his due process rights. They are trying to litigate on social media what they should be doing in the courts they need to put up or shut up in the courts,&#8221; Van Hollen said. &#8220;Let me tell you, I decided to write this down so I could be absolutely accurate as to what federal district Court Judge Zennis said about these allegations by the Trump administration, quote, &#8216;No evidence linking Abrego Garcia to MS-13 or any terrorist activity has been presented to the court.&#8217; That&#8217;s where to litigate this. It&#8217;s been litigated in many other places, so I&#8217;m not going to get into the details because the whole purpose of our court system is for them to adjudicate these things, not for Donald Trump to go off on social media.&#8221;

Sen. Chris Van Hollen

Dem Senator Says He Did Not Ask Deported Illegal Immigrant About MS-13

Democrat Sen. Chris Van Hollen (MD) is playing defense after his photo-op with an illegal immigrant and alleged MS-13 gang member didn&#8217;t go as planned.
As highlighted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sipping-margaritas-dem-senator-finally-meets-deported-illegal-immigrant-in-el-salvador?author=Daniel+Chaitin&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=6&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Hotwire&amp;rowType=Four+Column+Grid&amp;title=‘Sipping+Margaritas’%3A+Dem+Senator+Finally+Meets+Deported+Illegal+Immigrant+In+El+Salvador" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a>, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele mocked Van Hollen&#8217;s meeting with migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was sent to an El Salvador prison by the Trump administration.
“Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the ‘death camps’ &amp; ‘torture’, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!” Bukele said, adding a tropical drink emoji to the post.
Two of the photos, seen below, include glasses with what appears to be either salt or sugar on the rim with a cherry garnish.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the “death camps” &amp; “torture”, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!🍹 <a href="https://t.co/r6VWc6Fjtn">pic.twitter.com/r6VWc6Fjtn</a>
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) <a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1913028548001923259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
Responding to the mockery, Van Hollen claims he didn&#8217;t sip &#8220;any margaritas or sugar water or whatever it is&#8221; when he met with Garcia, despite the glasses being put on the table. Notably, it was Van Hollen&#8217;s office that provided some photos of the meeting to the media.
&#8220;Let me just be very clear, neither of us touched the drinks that were in front of us,&#8221; the Democrat said, according to Fox News. &#8220;And if you want to play a little Sherlock Holmes, I’ll tell you how you can know that. … If you sip out of one of those glasses, some of whatever it was — salt or sugar — would disappear. You would see a gap. There’s no gap.&#8221;
&#8220;Nobody drank any margaritas or sugar water or whatever it is,&#8221; he emphasized.
Van Hollen then turned his attention to Bukele and President Donald Trump, seemingly blaming them for the spoiled photo-op.
&#8220;This is a lesson into the lengths that President Bukele will do to deceive people,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And it also shows the lengths that the Trump administration and the president will go to, because when he was asked by a reporter about this, he just went along for the ride.&#8221;
Trump reacted Friday on X to Democrats and their allies in the media defending Garcia, who has a history of allegedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/deported-illegal-immigrant-who-dems-have-championed-accused-of-beating-wife-court-docs?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Deported+Illegal+Immigrant+Who+Dems+Have+Championed+Accused+Of+Beating+Wife%3A+Court+Docs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">beating his wife</a> in addition to alleged MS-13 ties.
&#8220;This is the hand of the man that the Democrats feel should be brought back to the United States, because he is such ‘a fine and innocent person,'&#8221; Trump wrote. &#8220;They said he is not a member of MS-13, even though he’s got MS-13 tattooed onto his knuckles, and two Highly Respected Courts found that he was a member of MS-13, beat up his wife, etc. I was elected to take bad people out of the United States, among other things. I must be allowed to do my job. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This is the hand of the man that the Democrats feel should be brought back to the United States, because he is such “a fine and innocent person.” They said he is not a member of MS-13, even though he’s got MS-13 tattooed onto his knuckles, and two Highly Respected Courts found… <a href="https://t.co/31sNr2k1SK">pic.twitter.com/31sNr2k1SK</a>
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1913358867708493982?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
The White House also chimed in, telling Sen. Van Hollen that Garcia is &#8220;NOT coming back&#8221; to the United States.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Fixed it for you, <a href="https://twitter.com/nytimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NYTimes</a>.
Oh, and by the way, <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisVanHollen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChrisVanHollen</a> — he’s NOT coming back. <a href="https://t.co/VoAphh2ZPY">pic.twitter.com/VoAphh2ZPY</a>
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1913241658579440126?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sipping-margaritas-dem-senator-finally-meets-deported-illegal-immigrant-in-el-salvador?author=Daniel+Chaitin&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=6&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Hotwire&amp;rowType=Four+Column+Grid&amp;title=‘Sipping+Margaritas’%3A+Dem+Senator+Finally+Meets+Deported+Illegal+Immigrant+In+El+Salvador" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dem Senator Finally Meets Deported Illegal Immigrant In El Salvador</a>

Democrat Denies Sipping Those Margaritas With Suspected MS-13 Member

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