Ansari says Abrego Garcia's wrongful deportation case is ‘about more than one man'
U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari speaks to reporters on April 22, 2025, at Sky Harbor International Airport following her return from El Salvador, where she and other Democrats tried to visit Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who the Trump administration wrongly deported but has refused to help. Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror
Democratic U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari returned Tuesday from traveling to an El Salvador megaprison in an attempt to visit a Maryland father who the Trump administration has said was wrongfully deported, but who they haven't done a thing to help return to America.
'This is about more than one man, it is a constitutional crisis,' Anasari told reporters at Sky Harbor International Airport on Tuesday afternoon. 'Now, so many people are afraid and asking, 'What if our rights mean nothing?''
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She traveled with other members of the House's Progressive Caucus, including Reps. Robert Garcia, D-California, Maxwell Frost, D-Florida, and Maxine Dexter, D-Oregon.
Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia's case has sparked international controversy and a legal challenge seeking his return. The Trump administration has acknowledged in court that he was mistakenly sent to a maximum security prison in El Salvador — a judge years ago ruled that he could not be deported — with no due process, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Trump administration needs to 'facilitate' Abrego Garcia's return.
But President Donald Trump has not only said he won't do anything to repatriate Abrego Garcia, he has in recent days dug in with false claims that the immigrant is a violent felon and gang member. And Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, whose government is being paid $6 million to house American deportees, told reporters last week during a press briefing in the Oval Office that he wouldn't comply even if Trump asked.
Anasari's trip to El Salvador came after Maryland Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador to meet with Abrego Garcia, but was initially denied entry to the notorious Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo prison, or CECOT, where he was being held.
Van Hollen met with El Salvador Vice President Félix Ulloa and said his requests for contact with Abrego Garcia were rebuffed. The next day, he was allowed a meeting with Abrego Garcia, who has now been moved to a different detention center in El Salvador.
Other federal officials have had no problem accessing the CECOT facility, which has been at the subject of multiple allegations of human rights abuses, including Republican congressmen and members of the Trump administration.
'This should not be a partisan issue,' Anasari said, directly addressing the disparity in access to the CECOT facility, adding that members of both parties should be allowed access.
The Trump administration itself has admitted that Abrego Garcia's deportation was an 'error' and the judge in the case has indicated that she is now considering contempt charges against the administration for failing to bring the man back to America.
On Tuesday, Anasari said she spoke with Abrego Garcia's wife and his lawyer during her trip, leading to the congresspeople drafting a letter of demands that they sent to the State Department. The demands included asking for regular proof of life, regular meetings with his legal counsel and a guarantee of return.
Ansari said that they sent the letter Monday and received confirmation that the letter was received, but have not gotten any other response.
The White House and fellow freshman Congressman Abe Hamadeh have been highly critical of Anasari's trip to El Salvador, with the White House mentioning the arrest of Jose Escobar-Robles in a press release directly attacking her.
The White House claimed that Escobar-Robles was 'illegally funnelling money to Mexico to benefit violent cartels engaged in drug smuggling and human trafficking,' but he hasn't been charged with any of those crimes. Instead, as reported by the Arizona Republic, he is facing charges for re-entering the country after a previous deportation.
Anasari said the group of Democratic lawmakers she traveled with will not be the last to visit and said she intends to keep pressure on the Salvadoran government, as well as the Trump administration, but did not give any further ideas as to what those plans may be.
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