Latest news with #D-MD
The Star
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Maryland congressman denied access to see man wrongly deported to El Salvador
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Representative Glenn Ivey (D-MD) takes part in a press conference to advocate for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man deported from the U.S. without due process by the Trump administration as an alleged MS-13 gang member and sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum-security prison in San Salvador, El Salvador May 26, 2025. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) -A Maryland congressman said on Monday he was unable to meet one of his constituents, a Salvadoran man wrongly deported from the United States to a prison in El Salvador. Representative Glenn Ivey, a Democrat, had traveled to El Salvador to meet Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is being held in the notorious CECOT prison for gang members. Ivey, speaking in a social media video that appeared to have been filmed outside the prison, said that he and Abrego Garcia's lawyer had not been allowed inside. "If there is nothing to hide, cut the crap," Ivey said. He added that a formal request had been made with the Salvadoran ambassador to the U.S. ahead of the visit, but when he arrived at the prison officials told him he needed a permit to enter. Abrego Garcia's case has pitted the defiant administration of U.S. President Donald Trump against the courts, including the Supreme Court, raising the prospect of a constitutional conflict after the government acknowledged he was deported because of an administrative error. El Salvador's government has also refused to return him. The government on Monday did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Ivey's visit. The White House has repeated the unproven accusation that Abrego Garcia is part of MS-13, which the administration has designated a foreign terrorist group. Abrego Garcia's lawyers deny any gang affiliation, saying he left El Salvador at 16 to escape gang-related violence and received a protective order in 2019 to continue living in the United States. U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, was able to meet Abrego Garcia in April. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele showed photos of the two meeting at a hotel, seated with margaritas. Van Hollen decried the set-up as an attempt by Bukele to contradict the narrative that Abrego Garcia was being held in harsh conditions. (Reporting by Nelson Renteria; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
Straits Times
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Trump says he has not spoken to El Salvador about man's return
FILE PHOTO: Cesar Abrego Garcia and Cecilia Garcia de Abrego, the brohter and the mother of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, wear buttons with monarch butterflies, on the day of a press conference held by U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) after returning from a visit to El Salvador, where he advocated for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man deported from the U.S. without due process by the Trump administration, as an alleged MS-13 gang member and sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum security prison in El Salvador, at Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Virginia, U.S., April 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Cesar Abrego Garcia, and Cecilia Garcia de Abrego react as U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) holds a press conference after returning from a visit to El Salvador, where he advocated for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man deported from the U.S. without due process by the Trump administration, as an alleged MS-13 gang member and sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum security prison in El Salvador, at Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Virginia, U.S., April 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who lived in the U.S. legally with a work permit and was erroneously deported to El Salvador, looks on during a press conference with other family members, supporters and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who lived in the U.S. legally with a work permit and was erroneously deported to El Salvador, is seen wearing a Chicago Bulls hat, in this handout image obtained by Reuters on April 9, 2025. Abrego Garcia Family/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Trump says he has not spoken to El Salvador about man's return WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he has not spoken to El Salvador's president about returning a man mistakenly deported from Maryland, and the top U.S. diplomat refused to comment on reported contacts with El Salvadoran authorities. Asked if he thought El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele would reject a request from him seeking Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return, Trump said: "I don't know. I haven't spoken to him." "I really leave that to the lawyers," he told reporters at the White House. In an ABC News interview on Tuesday, Trump said he could help return Abrego Garcia with a phone call but would not, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's April 10 order for his administration to "facilitate" his release. Trump's administration has argued that only El Salvador can act, and cited Bukele's comments in an April 14 meeting with Trump that he would not return Abrego Garcia. On Wednesday, CNN reported that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Bukele were in contact. The New York Times separately reported that a U.S. diplomatic note was sent to Salvadoran officials inquiring about Abrego Garcia's return but that Bukele's government said no. Rubio, speaking alongside Trump at a Cabinet meeting at the White House, declined to comment and said he would not disclose any talks to the courts. "The conduct of our foreign policy belongs to the President of the United States and the executive branch, not some judge," Rubio told reporters. "We will conduct foreign policy appropriately if we need to, but I'll never discuss it." Representatives for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and El Salvador's presidential office did not respond to requests for comment on the reported contacts. The U.S. District Court judge in Maryland handling the case on Wednesday ordered expedited discovery and other actions to be completed by mid-May. Abrego Garcia, 29, a Salvadoran migrant who was living in Maryland with a work permit, was detained by U.S. immigration officers in March and questioned about alleged gang ties before being sent on one of three deportation flights to El Salvador with Venezuelan migrants despite a protective order allowing him to remain in the U.S. Legal experts and Democrats say the case illustrates the risks to everyone's constitutional right to due process and raises questions about Trump's intentions on whether to comply with the courts, a third co-equal branch of government. The White House has repeated the unproven accusation that Abrego Garcia is part of criminal gang MS-13, which the administration has designated a foreign terrorist group. His lawyers deny any gang affiliation, saying he left El Salvador at age 16 to escape such violence and received a protective order in 2019 to continue living in the U.S. "If Donald Trump can ignore court orders and trample over the rights of one man, he threatens the rights of everyone who lives in the United States of America," said U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat. a day after he pressed Trump to comply with legal orders. The Republican president has touted his immigration crackdown as he marked his 100th day in office this week. While immigration has been Trump's strongest area of support, Reuters/Ipsos polling showed respondents split on his handling of the issue. Separate Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos polling found more Americans say Abrego Garcia should be returned. Lawyers for other migrants deported in the March flights have also urged courts to order the facilitation of their return from El Salvador. Rubio on Wednesday told reporters the Trump administration was also seeking other countries to take deported migrants. It earlier announced a deal with Uzbekistan. Another U.S. judge on Wednesday ordered the administration to ensure due process for migrants held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Trump says he could seek El Salvadoran man's return with phone call
FILE PHOTO: Cesar Abrego Garcia and Cecilia Garcia de Abrego, the brohter and the mother of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, wear buttons with monarch butterflies, on the day of a press conference held by U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) after returning from a visit to El Salvador, where he advocated for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man deported from the U.S. without due process by the Trump administration, as an alleged MS-13 gang member and sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum security prison in El Salvador, at Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Virginia, U.S., April 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Cesar Abrego Garcia, and Cecilia Garcia de Abrego react as U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) holds a press conference after returning from a visit to El Salvador, where he advocated for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man deported from the U.S. without due process by the Trump administration, as an alleged MS-13 gang member and sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum security prison in El Salvador, at Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Virginia, U.S., April 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who lived in the U.S. legally with a work permit and was erroneously deported to El Salvador, looks on during a press conference with other family members, supporters and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who lived in the U.S. legally with a work permit and was erroneously deported to El Salvador, is seen wearing a Chicago Bulls hat, in this handout image obtained by Reuters on April 9, 2025. Abrego Garcia Family/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Trump says he could seek El Salvadoran man's return with phone call WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump says he could help return an El Salvadoran man mistakenly deported from Maryland but would not despite court-ordered action, in contrast to his administration's arguments that only El Salvador can act. Asked about his ability to call up El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in an effort to follow the U.S. Supreme Court order to "facilitate" Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return, Trump told ABC News in an interview on Tuesday: "I could." "I'm not the one making this decision. We have lawyers that don't want to do this," Trump said. "I follow the law," he added. The nation's top court issued its order April 10. The Trump administration has argued since then that only El Salvador's government can act because Abrego Garcia is in a Salvadoran prison and that Washington does not need to help extract him. Legal experts and Democrats say the case illustrates the risks to everyone's due process and constitutional rights, and raises questions about Trump and his administration's intentions to defy the courts, a third co-equal branch of government. The U.S. District Court judge in Maryland has stayed discovery in the case until Wednesday at 5 p.m. The White House has repeated the unproven accusation that Abrego Garcia is part of criminal gang MS-13, which the administration has designated a foreign terrorist group. His lawyers deny any gang affiliation, saying he left El Salvador at age 16 to escape such violence and received a protective order in 2019 to continue living in the United States. Trump double-downed on the accusation with ABC and defended his hard-line immigration tactics, saying: "I was elected to take care of a problem." Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran migrant who was living in Maryland with a work permit, was detained by U.S. immigration officers in March and questioned about alleged gang ties before being deported on one of three deportation flights to El Salvador with Venezuelan migrants. The Trump administration, in a court filing after Abrego Garcia and his family challenged the deportation in court, acknowledged he was deported in error. The government lawyer who admitted the mistake "should not have said that," Trump told ABC. The Republican president has touted his immigration crackdown as he marked his 100th day in office this week. While immigration has been Trump's strongest area of support, a Reuters/Ipsos poll last week found respondents split on his handling of the issue. A separate Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll last week found more Americans say Abrego Garcia should be returned. U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, in a letter to Trump on Tuesday said comments by El Salvador's vice president this month prove El Salvador has no legal basis to hold him prisoner. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The Star
US Senator presses Trump on wrongly detained man after El Salvador cites US funds
Jennifer Vasquez Sura, Cesar Abrego Garcia, and Cecilia Garcia de Abrego, the family of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, react as U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) holds a press conference after returning from a visit to El Salvador, where he advocated for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man deported from the U.S. without due process by the Trump administration, as an alleged MS-13 gang member and sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum security prison in El Salvador, at Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Virginia, U.S., April 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - El Salvador is only detaining an El Salvadoran man mistakenly deported from Maryland because the country is receiving U.S. payments, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen said in letter to the White House on Tuesday. Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, said his recent meeting with El Salvador's vice president shows President Donald Trump's failure to follow court orders. In a separate statement, Van Hollen said Salvadoran Vice President Felix Ulloa told him this month that the Central American nation was holding Kilmar Abrego Garcia "solely because the United States is paying the country to do so." He said, "we have a deal with the U.S. government. They send people. We host them. They pay. And that's it,'" the senator wrote in the letter to Trump, citing Ulloa. Their conversation "clearly demonstrates that the government of El Salvador has no independent legal basis for imprisoning Mr. Abrego Garcia," Van Hollen added. "The only reason for keeping him in prison is that they entered into an agreement with your Administration to be paid by the United States.' Representatives for the White House did not respond to a request for comment. Van Hollen, who says the case illustrates the risks to everyone's due process and constitutional rights, met with Garcia in El Salvador after the U.S. Supreme Court told Trump's administration to "facilitate" Garcia's return to the U.S. Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who was living in Maryland and has had a work permit since 2019, was detained by U.S. immigration officers in March and questioned about alleged ties with MS-13, which the administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization. His lawyers deny any gang affiliation. He was deported on one of three deportation flights to El Salvador with Venezuelan migrants. The Trump administration, in a court filing after Abrego Garcia and his family challenged the deportation in court, acknowledged he was sent in error. In an interview with Time magazine published on Friday, Trump said he was leaving the case up to his lawyers. Asked about White House efforts to follow the court order, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt on Monday cited El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's comments during an April 14 meeting with Trump, telling reporters: "El Salvador does not intend to smuggle a designated foreign terrorist back into the United States... the administration intends to comply with what President Bukele said." Lawyers for the Venezuelan men also sent to the notorious CECOT prison where Abrego Garcia had been held have also urged a judge to order the Trump's administration to facilitate their return. A lawyer for 10 of the men on Monday said they were denied access to their clients during a trip El Salvador. Trump has touted his immigration crackdown as he marks his 100th day in office this week. While immigration has been Trump's strongest area of support, a Reuters/Ipsos poll last week found respondents split on his handling of the issue. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by David Gregorio)
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tim Walz's Daughter Sparks Outrage by Comparing Alleged MS-13 Gang Member to Jesus Christ
In a moment that has rocked social media and political discourse, Hope Walz, daughter of Minnesota Governor and former Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz, ignited a firestorm this week by posting a TikTok in which she appeared to compare Jesus Christ to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man alleged by immigration officials to have ties to the violent MS13 gang. Walz's comments, intended to reflect on humanity and empathy, have instead become the subject of fierce national criticism and intense scrutiny. In the now viral video, Hope Walz, speaking solemnly into the camera, says: 'I believe in the good of people and like humanity… humans, you know, deep down at our core, we care about each other. But that's really being tested.' Moments later, she escalated her message, saying: 'If Trump had been alive when Jesus was walking the Earth, he would have deported him too for being a gang member.' The implication that an alleged criminal like Abrego Garcia could be equated with Jesus Christ immediately enraged critics across the political spectrum. Conservative pundits labeled the comparison 'blasphemous' while others accused Walz of 'radicalizing humanitarianism' to dangerous ends. Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Maryland resident from El Salvador, has become a focal point in the immigration debate. Despite living peacefully in the United States since 2011 and maintaining a clean criminal record, he was suddenly detained and deported in March 2025 under the Biden administration's immigration policy. According to court documents and media reports, a federal judge had explicitly ordered a stay on his deportation amid concerns he would be tortured or killed upon return. Nevertheless, Garcia was forcibly removed, sent to El Salvador's mega prison CECOT, and is now being held without charge or trial in conditions described by observers as 'brutal' and 'inhumane.' The U.S. Department of Homeland Security cited 'unconfirmed associations' with MS13 as grounds for his removal. Legal experts and immigrant rights advocates say the claim was completely unsubstantiated. Garcia's attorneys maintain that he had no affiliation with any gang, nor any history of criminal behavior. His deportation, they argue, was based solely on misinformation and political pressure. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) recently traveled to El Salvador to meet with Garcia and described the situation as 'a catastrophic failure of justice.' Speaking at a press conference, Van Hollen declared: 'The U.S. government unlawfully deported a man with no criminal background to a country where he is now living in terror. We must bring Kilmar home.' El Salvador's controversial President Nayib Bukele has refused all requests to release Garcia, calling him 'a danger to the Salvadoran people' which critics argue is more about political theater than legal reality. Despite international pressure, Bukele has made it clear that Garcia will not be returning to the United States anytime soon. Hope Walz's comments have not emerged in a vacuum. Her father, Tim Walz, a former educator and progressive lawmaker, has long emphasized the moral dimension of immigration. During the 2024 Vice Presidential debate, Walz cited the Bible to condemn harsh immigration practices: 'To the least among us, you do unto me,' he said, quoting Matthew 25:40. Hope's comparison between Jesus and modern-day deportees may be an extension of this sentiment, but critics say she crossed a dangerous line. One viral post on X (formerly Twitter) read: 'This is what happens when your worldview is shaped by blind idealism. Jesus was not a gang member. To compare him to one is morally repugnant.' The public response has been explosive Conservative figureheads branded the remarks 'delusional' and 'anti-Christian' Evangelical leaders demanded a retraction and apology from both Hope and Tim Walz On the other side, immigrant advocates praised her for 'speaking from the heart' and calling out America's hypocrisy' One trending comment read: 'If Jesus came to America today as a poor refugee from the Middle East, he'd be locked in a cage or worse. Hope Walz may be the only one brave enough to say it.' The saga of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and the explosive reaction to Hope Walz's commentary underscores a deeper crisis in American politics. There is a fractured moral compass on immigration, religion, and justice. As the 2026 midterms loom and faith-based voters reassert their power, comments like Walz's may have far-reaching implications. Is this the beginning of a reckoning? Or just another 24-hour outrage cycle? Either way, the message is clear. In America's war over compassion and control, even Jesus is now a political pawn. The post Tim Walz's Daughter Sparks Outrage by Comparing Alleged MS-13 Gang Member to Jesus Christ appeared first on Where Is The Buzz | Breaking News, Entertainment, Exclusive Interviews & More.
