U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter usually represents Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District, but she took an international trip to El Salvador to demand the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The Democrat lawmaker stepped off a flight Tuesday, meeting reporters at the airport to discuss her efforts.
“Public pressure and litigation are the ways, the tools that we have to uphold the law,” she said during a press conference. “When one man’s rights are stripped, every single Oregonian’s rights are at risk.”
Democratic lawmakers fight for release of Kilmar Abrego García
The lawmakers explain that it goes beyond Abrego Garcia’s case. They said it shows the Trump Administration is willing to cross the line and take “people out of the United States who have constitutional protection to due process and removed, and now we don’t have jurisdiction because they’re in another country.”
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Trump officials initially labeled the deportation of Abrego Garcia as an administrative error, but they didn’t have the power to bring him back to U.S. soil. Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. illegally over a decade ago and later tried to seek asylum in 2019 out of fear of being targeted by a gang in El Salvador.
The administration eventually released information about prior arrests, indicating Abrego Garcia was likely a member of the MS-13 gang, deemed a terrorist organization earlier this year, but has not produced information proving his affiliation. News later surfaced that Abrego Garcia’s partner had filed an order of protection against him after filing a police report detailing domestic abuse.
Although he wasn’t granted asylum, the court protected him against deportation. According to the court filing, Abrego Garcia checked in each year with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and was given a work permit by the Department of Homeland Security.
What did the trip entail?
During the 48-hour meeting, Dexter was joined by three other congressional leaders: Democratic Representatives Robert Garcia of California, Yassamin Ansari of Arizona and Maxwell Frost of Florida. Ahead of the trip, Dexter said Abrego Garcia “is now being held indefinitely in a foreign prison. This is not just one family’s nightmare; it is a constitutional crisis that should outrage every single one of us.”
Dexter said she and the other representatives met with Abrego Garcia’s family, the U.S. Embassy, human rights activists and attorneys. She said they worked to figure out where he’s being detained since he’s been moved from CECOT, a maximum security prison in El Salvador.
“We don’t know. There’s been no contact with him by his attorneys or his family since Senator Van Hollen saw him last Thursday. His family is deeply concerned about his health and safety,” Dexter said. She shared that Abrego Garcia’s family has said he has mental and health illnesses he struggles with, so it’s critical he gets the care he needs.
Lawmakers call on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to coordinate release
The group sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio with a list of non-negotiable demands for the Trump administration. The representatives want continuous proof of life to ensure his human rights are being upheld and he’s not subject to mistreatment. Regarding access to counsel, they want Abrego Garcia to receive legal representation to fight his case. The third ask centers around his return to America with the help of the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador.
Although the trip didn’t produce immediate results, Dexter said, “The point was to continue to raise the question about why the Trump Administration is not taking action to facilitate his return in accordance with the Supreme Court ruling.”
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling to release Abrego Garcia from custody in El Salvador. The justices wrote, “The removal to El Salvador was therefore illegal. The United States represents that the removal to El Salvador was the result of an ‘administrative error.’”
