Four House Dems travel to El Salvador despite GOP refusal
Source: Axios
3 hours ago
After House Republicans refused to allow Democrats to organize official congressional delegations to El Salvador, four of them are traveling to the Central American nation anyway, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The lawmakers' offices said they will meet with officials at the U.S. embassy there to advocate for the release of Kilmar Armando Ábrego García and receive classified briefings.
The Supreme Court has ordered the return of Ábrego García, a Maryland resident who was erroneously deported, but the Trump administration and El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele have refused to comply. He was being held at the country's notorious Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) prison, but Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said after meeting with him that he has been moved to another detention center.
Driving the news: Reps. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) and Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.) arrived in San Salvador, the country's capital, on Monday morning, their offices said.
Garcia and Frost had requested authorization from House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.) but were denied. "If you ... wish to meet with him, you can spend your own money. But I will not approve a single dime of taxpayer funds for use on the excursion you have requested," Comer wrote. The four Democratic lawmakers' office said in a joint statement that their trip "is not being financed by taxpayer dollars."
Zoom out: Ábrego García's case has come to symbolize the national struggle over the Trump administration's deportation policies and its efforts to centralize power in the executive branch.
Democrats have accused the administration of blatantly overstepping its authority both by deporting Ábrego García despite a 2019 no-removal order and by defying a Supreme Court order to facilitate his return. The White House and Republicans have shot back by claiming Ábrego García is a member of the gang MS-13. Some Democrats have been sensitive to Republican attacks on their colleagues' efforts to free Ábrego García, leading to internal friction over the issue.
Read more: https://www.axios.com/2025/04/21/democrats-el-salvador-trump-cecot-abrego-garcia

True Blue American
(18,494 posts)Just like the ones JD described in his book. Funny ,I have lived in Southern Ohio and Southwest all my life, not far from Middletown where all those hillbillies moved for jobs and have encountered few as bigoted and hateful asJD!
I am glad the Pope sent his Aide to let JD know how wrong he is. Chew on that JD.
cpamomfromtexas
(1,404 posts)They NEED to feel superior to someoneANYONE
True Blue American
(18,494 posts)I watched those from the hills and Mountains work to prosper, give their children what they needed to succeed, moving up in each generation.
I saw middle aged men go back to trade schools or Community College when the factories began to die. They did not whine and complain. They learned a new trade, started their own businesses, moved on.
sop
(13,796 posts)Democrats don't want to "free" the man, they want to follow the rule of law. The only way Abrego Garcia can get due process is by returning him to the U.S. to face whatever charges can be brought against him in a court of law. If Abrego Garcia is found guilty of the crimes he's been accused of by Trump and his henchmen, then he should face the consequences. If not, he should go free.
Dr. T
(196 posts)of the court system? If Kilmar truly is a violent gang member, it should be easy to prove. But they've got nothing, no cards they can play, so they're trying him in the court of right wing public opinion.
Speaking of violent gang members, the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers come to mind. Using Orange administration logic, all of them should be on the next flight to El Salvador.
The constitution guarantees due process to everyone. By ignoring the constitution, Trump violated his oath of office, and he should be thrown out of the White house today, just for that. But Trump is trying to throw up a smokescreen to distract form that fact..
Never mind he, because he tried to overthrow the government in 2020, that disqualified him to be president.
Dr. T
(196 posts)to El Salvador. As a prisoner. He would cry like a newborn while his head was being shaved. War Pigs by Black Sabbath is the song that comes to mind.
JustAnotherGen
(34,693 posts)Last edited Mon Apr 21, 2025, 02:17 PM - Edit history (1)
Impresses me. Him, Crockett, Underwood, Frost - that's the future. When the regime falls - if we have them - it won't be return to the American Status Quo.
They speak to me in the same way some folks hear AOC and Bernie.
They see me.
Amaryllis
(10,269 posts)NotHardly
(2,070 posts)orleans
(35,922 posts)niyad
(123,320 posts)orleans
(35,922 posts)FBaggins
(28,083 posts)The GOP did not (and could not) refuse to allow them to travel to El Salvador.
All they could do was refuse to pay for it or allow it to be a "congressional delegation" (official travel - black passports - staff, etc.)
flamingdem
(40,372 posts)in the USA. To call him illegal is absolutely incorrect.
Skittles
(163,560 posts)you know, like Cosplay Barbie