Trump administration says Kilmar Ábrego García will 'never go free'
The Trump administration said a Salvadoran man who was mistakenly deported and then brought back to the US on criminal charges will "never go free", even though a judge has ordered his release.Kilmar Ábrego García was deported in March as part of an immigration crackdown. Government officials said he had been removed in error, but they were unable to bring him back.Earlier this month, he was sent to the state of Tennessee, where the justice department charged him with human smuggling.The judge overseeing the case said on Sunday that Mr Ábrego García should be released from legal custody while he awaits trial. But she noted immigration officials would still have the power to detain him.
"Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a dangerous criminal illegal alien," Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a social media post on Monday. "We have said it for months and it remains true to this day: he will never go free on American soil."The department oversees immigration enforcement.Judge Barbara Holmes said in an opinion on Sunday that "the government failed to prove" that Mr Ábrego García endangered any minor victim, was a flight risk or might attempt to obstruct justice. She also wrote that once the Justice Department released him, immigration officials would probably take Mr Ábrego García into custody as they work to remove him from the country.In a federal indictment filed in early June, the government accused Mr Ábrego García of participating in a trafficking conspiracy over several years to move undocumented migrants from Texas to other parts of the country.The charges, which date back to 2016, allege he transported undocumented individuals between Texas and Maryland and other states more than 100 times.He has pleaded not guilty.
The Trump administration has also accused him of being a member of the MS-13 gang, though Mr Ábrego García and his lawyers have strongly denied that. Mr Ábrego García was initially deported on 15 March amid an immigration crackdown by the Trump administration, after it invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law that allows presidents to detain or deport the natives and citizens of an enemy country.He was taken to the Cecot mega-prison in El Salvador, known for its brutal conditions.What is the 1798 law that Trump used to deport migrants?What we know about Kilmar Abrego Garcia and MS-13 allegationsWhile government lawyers initially said he was taken there as a result of an "administrative error", the Trump administration would not bring him back.The US Supreme Court ordered the government to "facilitate" his return to his home in the state of Maryland, and a legal battle began over what the court required.Mr Ábrego García entered the US illegally as a teenager from El Salvador. In 2019, he was arrested with three other men in Maryland and detained by federal immigration authorities.An immigration judge granted him protection from deportation on the grounds that he might be at risk of persecution from local gangs in his home country.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
36 minutes ago
- Reuters
Exclusive: Americans worry conflict with Iran could escalate, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) - Americans are anxious over a brewing conflict between the U.S. and Iran and worry the violence could escalate after President Donald Trump ordered the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday. Some 79% of Americans surveyed said they worried "that Iran may target U.S. civilians in response to the U.S. airstrikes." The three-day poll, which began after the U.S. airstrikes and ended early Monday before Iran said it attacked a U.S. air base in Qatar, showed Americans were similarly concerned about their country's military personnel stationed in the Middle East. Some 84% said they worried in general about the growing conflict. The poll, which surveyed 1,139 U.S. adults nationwide, underscored deep divisions in America over what Washington should do next and highlighted the political risks faced by Trump, whose presidential approval rating fell to 41%, the lowest level of his current term in office that began in January. The poll had a 3 percentage point margin of error. The U.S. bombing took place just two days ago and the public's view of the conflict could evolve in the days and weeks ahead. Only 32% of respondents said they supported continued U.S. airstrikes, compared to 49% who said they were opposed. However, within Trump's Republican Party, 62% backed further strikes and 22% were opposed. Republicans were more deeply divided when asked if they supported an immediate end to U.S. involvement in the conflict with Iran, with 42% saying Washington should end its involvement now and 40% opposed to the idea. Significant majorities of Democrats were opposed to bombing Iran further and in favor of ending the conflict immediately. Trump ordered the U.S. military to bomb Iran's nuclear sites on Saturday, a dramatic and risky shift in foreign policy following repeated pledges by Trump to avoid military interventions in major foreign wars. The president's overall approval rating, down 1 percentage point from 42% earlier in the month, has largely held steady in recent months, but is below the 47% reading in a Reuters/Ipsos poll just after he returned to the White House.
The Guardian
36 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Rights groups warn Gaza Humanitarian Foundation it may be liable for international law violations
Fifteen international human rights organisations have called on the Israel- and US-backed Gaza food delivery group, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), and other private groups running humanitarian aid delivery in Gaza to cease their operations or face legal consequences. In a letter sent on Monday to GHF and the affiliated Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions, the rights advocates warned that private contractors operating in Gaza in collaboration with the Israeli government risk 'aiding and abetting or otherwise being complicit in crimes under international law, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide'. They also noted that the contractors may be liable under US law and in other jurisdictions. The letter marks the latest warning against GHF, which has been mired in controversy since replacing most UN-run relief operations in Gaza. Major aid groups have boycotted it and accused it of violating the principles of neutrality and independence that are bedrocks of humanitarian work. GHF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The rollout of GHF operations over the last three weeks – after a two-month blockade on most aid entering Gaza that has pushed the territory's 2.1 million residents to the verge of famine – has been deadly. Scores of Palestinians seeking food aid have been killed by Israeli forces in chaotic scenes surrounding four privately run distribution hubs a UN official has described as 'death traps'. 'GHF's militarized model, coupled with its close collaboration with Israeli authorities, undermines the core humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence,' the letter sent Monday warned. 'We urge all parties involved – State actors, corporate entities, donors and individuals – to immediately suspend any action or support that facilitates the forcible displacement of civilians, contributes to starvation or other grave breaches of international law, or undermines the core principles of international humanitarian law.' Earlier this month, the US-based Center for Constitutional Rights had warned in a separate letter to Johnnie Moore, the evangelical leader and Trump adviser appointed to run the foundation after its former head resigned, that he and other GHF representatives may face civil litigation or criminal prosecution. 'Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the weeks since GHF began its dehumanizing, militarized 'distribution hubs' in coordination with Israeli forces,' said Katherine Gallagher, a senior staff attorney at CCR, which also signed onto the most recent letter. 'If it continues its deadly, militarized operations, legal consequences will follow, whether in the United States or beyond.' Raji Sourani, director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, another signatory, said it is 'immoral and inhuman when those committing the genocide take responsibility to feed those whom they have starved'. 'They are using the GHF to humiliate, degrade and kill daily tens of starving people,' he added, referring to Israel. Last week, US senator Elizabeth Warren questioned the Trump administration's proposal to redirect $500m from USAID, which the administration has gutted, to GHF, which is registered in the US and Switzerland. 'The questions surrounding GHF – its funding sources and connection to the Trump Administration, its use of private contractors, its ability to serve and be seen as a neutral entity, its abandonment by its founders, and its basic competence in providing aid – must be answered before the State Department commits any funding to the organization,' Warren wrote. Human rights and humanitarian groups across the world have denounced the replacement of independent, long-established humanitarian relief operations by private, militarized groups and called for UN-operated relief efforts to be allowed in the strip again. 'This is not how you avert famine,' James Elder, Unicef's global spokesperson, wrote in the Guardian. 'There is no need to reinvent the wheel. We delivered aid at scale during the ceasefire, and we can do it again. We just need to be allowed to do our jobs.'
Daily Mail
39 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Florida AG wants to build new 'Alligator Alcatraz' to house 'criminal aliens' in predator-filled swamp
Florida 's attorney general unveiled controversial plans to build a new immigration detention center - nicknamed 'Alligator Alcatraz' - as part of President Trump's sweeping crackdown to deport so-called 'criminal aliens '. Attorney General James Uthmeier has loudly thrown his support behind the Trump Administration's mass deportation agenda, declaring that the Sunshine State has already been lending a leading hand - and has no plans to stop anytime soon. His loyalty to the cause was on full display this week, when the 37-year-old politician proposed building a massive 39-square-mile detention center deep in the Everglades - encircled by thousands of pythons and alligators. 'Alligator Alcatraz - this existing island in the middle of the swamp presents a great option for criminal detention and deportation,' Uthmeier wrote to X. 'The one-stop shop to carry out President Trump's mass deportation agenda,' he added. Uthmeier took to X on Thursday, sharing a one-minute, rock-and-roll-fueled video showcasing his vision for the controversial detention center - set at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, a forgotten pilot training airstrip in the Everglades. He emphasized that 'Florida's been leading in immigration enforcement,' positioning the facility as the state's next big move in ICE's mission to round up what he referred to as 'criminal aliens'. In a span of just six days this past April, ICE agents in Florida arrested a staggering 1,120 people - underscoring the state's aggressive role in the nationwide crackdown, according to an ICE press release. In the video, Uthmeier emphasized the nationwide need for temporary detention centers, suggesting the 'virtually abandoned airstrip' could serve as an ideal makeshift facility. 'The government tasked state leaders to identify places for new temporary detention facilities,' he said. 'I think this is the best one. As I call it, Alligator Alcatraz.' He billed the plan as a budget-friendly, escape-proof solution - thanks to the alligator and python-infested Everglades surrounding the remote site like a natural fortress, a feature he claimed would slash security costs. 'Efficient. Low cost opportunity to build a temporary detention facility because you don't need to invest that much into the perimeter,' Uthmeier explained. 'People get out. There's not much waiting for them, other than alligators and pythons,' he added. 'Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide.' Pitching his plan to the White House, Uthmeier claimed 'Alligator Alcatraz' could be operational in just 30 to 60 days - and house up to 1,000 so-called 'criminal aliens'. Doubling down, the attorney general highlighted that the makeshift detention center would be surrounded by more than 200,000 alligators - adding a chilling layer of natural security Doubling down, the attorney general highlighted that the makeshift detention center would be surrounded by more than 200,000 alligators - adding a chilling layer of natural security. 'This presents a great opportunity for the state of Florida to work with Miami Dade and Collier counties,' Uthmeier stated. 'Alligator Alcatraz - we're ready to go.' According to Fox Business, which got an exclusive first look at the property, part of the appeal is the airstrip - allowing immigrants to be flown in directly, avoiding the process of relocating them multiple times. The proposal appeared to win backing from the Department of Homeland Security, who reposted Uthmeier's video on their own account - proudly hyping it with the bold caption, 'ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ'. 'Under 287g authority, state and local law enforcement can now assist with immigration functions, including: arrests, transportation and detention,' the department wrote to X. '287g is a force multiplier in completing the President's mission and making America safe again.' But the idea has sparked fierce backlash, with critics condemning it over environmental risks and calling out the inhumane conditions of detaining people in such camps - especially ones with dangerous wildlife surrounding each side. Eve Samples, Executive Director of Friends of the Everglades, stood out as just one vocal critic, joining a chorus of voices rejecting the proposal. 'This site is really important to Friends of the Everglades,' Samples told CBS News. 'It's actually the reason Friends of the Everglades was founded by Marjory Stoneman Douglas in 1969, to stop what would have been the world's largest airport from being built right there,' she added. 'We call on the governor to put a stop to this proposal right now. It's a terribly bad idea.' Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava also voiced strong concerns about 'Alligator Alcatraz' in a letter to Kevin Guthrie, Executive Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. In her letter dated June 23, Cava outlined three key concerns: environmental impacts and mitigation, financial analysis, and public safety and security. 'I understand there is an intention to begin work on the site as early as Monday,' she wrote. 'There has not been sufficient time to fully discuss these matters, and I thank you for your attention to these concerns given the rapid pace of the state's effort,' she continued. 'I trust we will continue to work in partnership on initiatives that ensure the safety and wellbeing of all Floridians.' Florida Democrat Representative Maxwell Frost added his take on X, posting, 'Donald Trump and his Administration have turned our immigration system into a taxpayer-funded kidnapping operation.' California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla wrote on X: 'The numbers don't lie. Trump isn't focused on violent criminals - he's wasting money and resources going after children, families and taxpayers.' For now, it's still uncertain whether the controversial 'Alligator Alcatraz' project will move beyond the planning stages.
