2 weeks Ago
Topline Four Democratic Congress members advocating for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, were denied a meeting Monday with the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, according to multiple outlets , days after Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., met with him on a congressionally approved visit.
Key Facts Reps. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., Robert Garcia, D-Calif.
, Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., and Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., had their request to meet Abrego Garcia denied by the El Salvadoran government, with Frost telling MSNBC the meeting was blocked because the lawmakers’ visit was not an official visit.
Frost said he and Garcia sent a letter to House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., asking for the visit to be an official congressional delegation, though Comer denied that request last week and blasted the Democrats , saying it was “absurd” they sought to “travel at Committee expense to meet with foreign gang members.” Comer echoed the Trump administration's allegation that Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member, an accusation denied by the Maryland man and challenged by District Court Judge Paula Xinis, who also ordered the government to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.
S. Frost said the Democrats were “not giving up” and wanted to “make sure to keep the conversation alive” regarding Abrego Garcia, telling MSNBC there is not full confirmation of what facility he is being held in (the Trump administration said in a Monday filing Abrego Garcia was being held at Centro Industrial penitentiary facility in Santa Ana). Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts : We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines.
Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here . Key Background Van Hollen, Frost and other Democrats are pushing for Abrego Garcia’s release from El Salvador, taking issue with his abrupt deportation carried out while he had an immigration status allowing him to legally work and live in the U.S.
on a temporary basis. The White House has also acknowledged Abrego Garcia was deported over a “ clerical error .” Van Hollen said in multiple interviews over the weekend he was not vouching for Abrego Garcia personally, but was instead vouching for “his constitutional rights to due process.
” Democrats have also cited orders from Xinis and the Supreme Court ordering the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S., but the government has argued it does not have the authority to bring him back and repeatedly accused him of being an MS-13 member.
Xinis said early this month the government had not offered any “evidence linking Abrego Garcia to MS-13 or to any terrorist activity,” encouraging the Trump administration to present the allegations in a court of law. Further Reading Van Hollen Criticizes Newsom’s ‘Distraction Of The Day’ Comment About Abrego Garcia (Forbes) Sen. Van Hollen Says Trump Administration Made $15 Million Deal With El Salvador To Imprison Deportees Including Abrego Garcia (Forbes) Sen.
Van Hollen Meets Kilmar Abrego Garcia In El Salvador (Forbes) Trump Administration Says It Will Simply Re-Deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia If He Is Brought Back To U.S. (Forbes) Join The Conversation One Community.
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