Latest news with #GlennIvey
Fox News
6 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Deported alleged gang member Abrego Garcia 'will never be on American streets again,' DHS says
The Department of Homeland Security doubled down on Wednesday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member deported to his native country of El Salvador, "will never be on American streets again." The agency's remarks came amid criticism from U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., who tried to visit Garcia on Memorial Day. Ivey initially posted a video on X about the attempted visit, saying that he represents Abrego Garcia, and that the Salvadoran government stonewalled his efforts. He urged Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday to present evidence in court that Garcia is an illegal immigrant. Democrats have maintained that Garcia was denied due process when he was deported despite being in the United States for years. "Let us be crystal clear: Kilmar Abrego Garcia will never be on American streets again," a Homeland Security post on X states. "Advocating for an illegal alien, MS-13 gang member, human trafficker and wife beater over ACTUAL Maryland constituents victimized by illegal alien crime is appalling." Since his deportation, several Democrats have attempted to visit Garcia in the El Salvadoran prison where he's being held to conduct wellness checks. The Trump administration has pointed to evidence that Abrego Garcia was involved with MS-13 and human trafficking. It has also cited court documents detailing Abrego Garcia's alleged physical abuse of his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura. Meanwhile, Democrats describe him as a "Maryland man" who was not given his due process in court before being deported. "If there is nothing to hide, cut the crap. Let his lawyer and I check on him," Ivey said in his video message. "I'm the congressman who represents Kilmar and I came all the way down from the United States after we contacted their ambassador, after we made formal requests through our ambassador to the El Salvadoran government, and we came here to visit him today." Fox News Digital has reached out to Ivey's office.
Fox News
6 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Former RNC chair says deporting illegal immigrant is just like Middle East insurgents kidnapping Americans
Former RNC Chair and MSNBC analyst Michael Steele compared the U.S. government deporting an illegal immigrant to El Salvador to despotic regimes kidnapping Americans or journalists while abroad on Tuesday. During an MSNBC segment, Steele argued that the U.S. deporting illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia from Maryland to the "Terrorism Confinement Center" in El Salvador earlier this year is similar to radical Islamic terrorists capturing Americans in the Middle East, or Russian President Vladimir Putin kidnapping journalists. "How is this different from when Putin grabs a journalist or some, you know, rogue group in the Middle East grabs an American, and we're sitting here fighting to try to get them back," he asked. "Our own government did this," he continued. "Our own government snatched him up and put him in harm's way and now refuses to do what it must do and should do to get him back home." Steele made the comments to Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., who recently traveled to meet with the deported immigrant but was denied access to the prisoner by local government officials. Ivey agreed with the former RNC chair's assessment that the U.S. is acting like Putin or Islamic extremist groups, prompting Steele to double down. "We're doing the exact same thing here in the U.S. now, with our own government. We're petitioning our government to stop seizing people and grabbing them off the street and putting them in foreign prisons." "Yeah," Ivey replied. Steele is the latest pundit to engage in the debate over Abrego Garcia between the Democratic Party and Republicans. Democratic figures, like Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., have claimed that Abrego Garcia has been unjustly deported to the mega prison. Van Hollen previously said that it was "absolutely unjust and illegal to have this Marylander detained one more day in a notorious prison in El Salvador." He also traveled to the country to meet with Abrego Garcia, a meeting that was heavily criticized by the Trump administration. Though some government officials acknowledged in court that Abrego Garcia's deportation to the Central American country was an administrative error, high-level Trump administration officials say the illegal immigrant was correctly removed and that he's a member of the MS-13 gang. Mentioning the detained migrant's 2022 arrest, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Press Secretary Tricia McLaughlin recently declared, "Kilmar Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member, illegal alien from El Salvador, and suspected human trafficker. The facts reveal he was pulled over with eight individuals in a car on an admitted three-day journey from Texas to Maryland with no luggage." She continued, "The facts speak for themselves, and they reek of human trafficking. The media's sympathetic narrative about this criminal illegal gang member has completely fallen apart. We hear far too much about the gang members and criminals' false sob stories and not enough about their victims." Both a federal district court and the U.S. Supreme Court have ordered the Trump administration to "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's release and return to the U.S. for proper deportation proceedings. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Abrego Garcia would not be allowed back into the U.S. unless El Salvador were to decide otherwise. "He is not coming back to our country," she said. In response to Steele's claims, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital, "Michael Steele is suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome and should apologize to all the innocent people he just insulted by comparing them to a terrorist illegal immigrant, human-trafficker, and wife-beater who had no legal right to be in the United States."
CBS News
6 days ago
- General
- CBS News
After failed trip to see Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Maryland congressman says El Salvador mission was "beyond disappointing"
Maryland Congressman Glenn Ivey expressed disappointment after returning from El Salvador without being able to see Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was mistakenly deported from the U.S. in March. Abrego Garcia remains in custody in a Salvadoran facility despite ICE admitting his deportation was due to an administrative error and despite federal and Supreme Court orders for the Trump administration to facilitate his return. Rep. Ivey denied access Rep. Ivey traveled to El Salvador on Friday, May 23. Before making the trip, Ivey said he made a formal request with the Salvadoran ambassador to see Abrego Garcia and confirmed with the Salvadoran government through the U.S. ambassador. Despite his planning, Ivey said when he arrived at a prison in Santa Ana to see Abrego Garcia, he was denied access and told to go back to San Salvador to get a permit. "They knew why we were coming, and they know we have the right to do this," Ivey said in a social media video. "So, they need to just cut the crap. Let us get in there and have a chance to see him and talk with him." After returning to the U.S. on Tuesday, May 27, Ivey told WJZ that he was not given a reason for being denied a meeting. "There's no real good reason for it," Ivey said. "They routinely let in Republican members of Congress, media outlets that they think are sympathetic." Checking on Salvadoran prison conditions Ivey said one of the goals of his trip was to check on the conditions at the lower-security facility that Abrego Garcia was moved to after he was initially held at CECOT, a notorious supermax prison. Ivey also said he wanted to see how American taxpayer dollars were being used to house deportees in El Salvador. "As a member of Congress, you know, we have collectively the power of the purse," Ivey said. "We have oversight obligations and responsibilities. We're supposed to go look at things like how American tax dollars are being spent." Abrego Garcia's attorney and a member of a Maryland-based workers' union joined Ivey for the trip. "It was, I thought, you know, beyond disappointing that they wouldn't allow an international delegation from Congress to go in and visit," Ivey told WJZ. Rep. Ivey: U.S. is paying El Salvador to jail deportees Abrego Garcia was among nearly 230 men who were put on a flight and deported from the U.S. to a Salvadoran prison in March. The Trump administration claimed they were all terrorists and gang members, and used a World War II-era law to send them to El Salvador. Abrego Garcia's lawyers and family have repeatedly denied claims that he is affiliated with a gang, citing his clean criminal record. According to Rep. Ivey and Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who met with Abrego Garcia in March, the Salvadoran government is being paid by the U.S. to keep the deportees as prisoners. "I'm not even completely sure there's an actual written agreement between the United States and El Salvador," Rep. Ivey said. "But my understanding is the United States, the Trump administration is paying millions of dollars to the Bukele administration, the president of El Salvador, in exchange for them jailing deportees from the United States." Sen. Van Hollen shared a similar sentiment after meeting with Salvadoran Vice President Félix Ulloa. "...the Government of El Salvador is holding [Abrego Garica] solely at the request of your Administration and, specifically, because you are paying them to imprison him," Van Hollen said in a letter to President Trump. Kilmar Abrego Garcia's case plays out in court Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. illegally and lived in Maryland for 14 years before he was taken into custody by ICE agents. In 2019, he was granted a withholding of removal order that should have prevented him from being deported to his native country of El Salvador. After his March deportation, Abrego Garcia filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, sparking a legal battle that continues to play out in court. A federal judge and the Supreme Court have both ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return. However, in mid-May, attorneys for Abrego Garcia accused the administration of stonewalling the court orders after the government invoked the states secrets privilege, allowing them to withhold information from the court. "Judges at every level of the federal court system have said 'bring him back,'" Ivey told WJZ. "It's just a question of how long the Trump administration is going to continue to try and ignore those obvious orders and drag their feet and avoid the ultimate day in court that Kilmar deserves and should get under the Constitution."
Fox News
27-05-2025
- General
- Fox News
White House rages at House Democrat for ‘shameful' Memorial Day trip to visit suspected MS-13 gangbanger
The White House ripped Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., for making a "shameful" Memorial Day trip to El Salvador in an attempt to visit deported illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The White House's rapid response account said of Ivey's trip, "This moron spent his Memorial Day trying (and failing) to visit a criminal illegal immigrant gangbanger in a foreign country. For Democrats, criminal illegals > American citizens every time." Ivey posted about the attempted visit on his X account, saying that he represents Abrego Garcia, and that the Salvadoran government stonewalled his efforts to conduct a welfare check. "Today, I was denied access to seeing my constituent, Mr. Kilmar Abrego Garcia. If there is nothing to hide, cut the crap. Let his lawyer and I check on him," he said. "I'm the congressman who represents Kilmar and I came all the way down from the United States after we contacted their ambassador, after we made formal requests through our ambassador to the El Salvadoran government, and we came here to visit him today." "We need to bring him home. I won't stop until we do," Ivey added in an X post. Abrego Garcia's deportation to his home country, El Salvador, has caused significant controversy. The Trump administration has pointed to evidence suggesting that Abrego Garcia was involved with MS-13 and human trafficking to justify his deportation. The administration has also cited court documents detailing Abrego Garcia's alleged physical abuse of his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura. Democrats, meanwhile, say he is a "Maryland man" who was not given his due process in court before being deported. Since Abrego Garcia's deportation, several Democrats, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., have made trips to El Salvador to conduct similar wellness checks and to advocate for his release. The trips have stirred significant controversy as well, with many asking why Democrats are spending so much time advocating for a suspected gang member who was unlawfully present in the U.S. The video also caught the attention of White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson. Jackson told Fox News Digital that "it's shameful, and an insult to the American people, that a Democrat Congressman spent his Memorial Day trying to visit a deported illegal alien, MS-13 terrorist, human-trafficker, and wife beater." "This pathetic stunt tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of the modern Democrat party – they're putting criminal illegals over American citizens all the time," said Jackson. In addition to the wife beating evidence, Fox News Digital has previously reported on documents detailing Abrego Garcia being stopped by a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper after he was "observed speeding" and unable to stay in his lane in 2022. The trooper noticed eight individuals in the car with Abrego Garcia, who said he began driving three days prior from Houston to Temple Hills, Maryland, via St. Louis to "perform construction work." The report states that the trooper suspected it was a human trafficking incident, as there was no luggage in the vehicle. Additionally, the individuals in the car reportedly gave the same address as Abrego Garica's home address. When speaking with the trooper, Abrego Garcia allegedly "pretended to speak less English than he was capable of and attempted to put encountering officer off-track by responding to questions with questions." After the incident, the officer decided not to give Abrego Garcia a citation for the driving infractions, but rather to give him a warning for driving with an expired license. The White House has not held back in its criticisms of Van Hollen's visit. In April, the White House tweeted side-by-side photos of Trump meeting with the mother of Rachel Morin, who was murdered by an illegal immigrant in 2023, and Van Hollen sitting with Abrego Garcia with the caption, "We are not the same." Rachel Morin was a Maryland resident, as is her mother, Patty, who said that Van Hollen had not reached out to her since her daughter was murdered. Van Hollen responded to this criticism in a Fox News interview in which he said he "did have concern" for the Morin family and his "heart goes out to every Maryland family that is the victim of violence." Van Hollen also said that "there is zero connection between the horrible murder of Rachel Morin and the situation with Abrego Garcia." Ivey did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Fox News
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Maryland Democrat Ivey furious not given access to Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador
A Maryland congressman has returned to the U.S. from El Salvador having failed in his attempt to meet deported illegal migrant and suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Rep. Glenn Ivey said he was "stonewalled" in his efforts to check on the welfare of Abrego Garcia, whose deportation in March has become a deeply polarizing issue for Republicans and Democrats. The Trump administration accuses Abrego Garcia of also being a human trafficker and a wife beater, while Democrats say he is a "Maryland man" who was not given his due process in court before being deported. "I was very, not just disappointed, but angry, actually," Ivey told reporters after returning from his trip Tuesday morning. DEM IMMIGRATION TALKING POINTS FIZZLE AS DARK PICTURE OF ABREGO GARCIA EMERGES Ivey, who said he did not use taxpayer money to fund his trip, said he had arranged with embassies in the U.S. and in El Salvador to meet Abrego Garcia in prison but was met with bureaucratic hurdles when he got there. Ivey said he was told he had to obtain a permit at a location 90 minutes away, which blocked his plans. "And I won't tell you what I said, but I mean, it's ridiculous that an international delegation would get that kind of treatment, especially when we're making this kind of request," Ivey said. WATCH: Democrat Rep. Glenn Ivey fumes he was not allowed access to Kilmar Abrego Garcia He didn't say if he attempted to get a permit but added that locals also told them no one—not even families—were getting permits to visit loved ones in detention. "It was a clear run around and not a way that a foreign government should be treating the Congress of the United States," he said. Ivey said he wanted to see Abrego Garcia to confirm the detainee's condition, location and ensure he receives due process in U.S. courts. Several other Democrats, including Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, have rushed to meet with Abrego Garcia and decried what they said was a lack of due process extended to him. When asked about Abrego Garcia's condition, Ivey told reporters, "Nothing's been confirmed along those lines. We believe he is and we believe he's at Santa Ana. But they didn't confirm that yesterday. So it was kind of a runaround." In a video posted to X on Monday, Ivey wrote that he traveled to the Central American country to visit his "constituent" and called on the government there to "cut the crap." Abrego Garcia was sent in March to El Salvador's notoriously high-security prison equipped to handle violent gang members, known as CECOT, which sparked Van Hollen to lead the surge of Democrats traveling there. The Trump administration has repeatedly cited court and police documents showing that the El Salvadoran man was not only in the U.S. illegally, but also connected to the MS-13 gang and that his wife had sounded the alarm to police about his violence. Court records show Abrego Garcia's wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, filed a protective order against her husband in August 2020. The order said their shared son and stepchildren needed protection from Abrego Garcia, accusing him of verbal and physical abuse against her and mental abuse against her children. Some Democrats and left-wing media have characterized Abrego Garcia as a "family man" who was wrongly deported back in March and the following weeks. Ivey, meanwhile, also railed over what he said were more than 250 Venezuelans jailed in El Salvador after deportation from the U.S., claiming that around 50 of them have no criminal records and were sent to a country where they have no pending offenses. "That's un-American. That's not what we should be doing," Ivey said.
