Bend, OR — Four House Democrats arrived in El Salvador this week in an escalating push to secure the release and return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a longtime U.S. resident who was deported by the Trump administration in what the Supreme Court later ruled was an unlawful act.
Representatives Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) landed in San Salvador on Sunday. Their mission: to investigate the detention conditions of Abrego Garcia, whose deportation they say represents a critical breach of due process and defiance of judicial authority.
Abrego Garcia, who lived in Maryland for more than a decade with his wife and three American-born children, was deported to El Salvador on March 15 aboard one of several flights reportedly filled with suspected gang members. However, court records and a Supreme Court ruling indicate that his deportation violated his legal protections and was carried out without proper judicial review.
Despite the high court’s order that the U.S. government assist in returning Abrego Garcia, Trump administration officials have insisted they lack the power to retrieve him from a foreign government’s custody — a claim legal experts and Democratic lawmakers argue directly challenges the authority of the judiciary.
“This is not just about one man,” Rep. Frost said at a press conference in the Salvadoran capital. “This is about the rule of law in the United States. When a Supreme Court ruling is ignored, we are no longer operating under a functioning democracy.”
The lawmakers said their requests to visit Abrego Garcia in detention were denied, and his attorney, Chris Newman, said the legal team has not had contact with their client since last week. “We don’t know where he is, we don’t know the conditions he’s being held in, and we don’t have access to him,” Newman stated.
The delegation’s visit follows a trip by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who met with Salvadoran officials and Abrego Garcia last week. Van Hollen described the situation as a “constitutional crisis” during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, noting the administration’s ongoing refusal to follow a Supreme Court directive.
Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, have defended the deportation, with many pointing to alleged national security concerns. The White House issued a statement Monday accusing Democrats of “prioritizing an illegal immigrant MS-13 gang member over the Americans they represent,” despite court rulings indicating no formal links between Abrego Garcia and gang activity.
However, not all Republicans are aligned on the issue. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) called the deportation a “screw-up” on Meet the Press, though he stopped short of supporting efforts to repatriate Abrego Garcia.
The deeply divided response has underscored the political and legal stakes of the case, which is increasingly being cited by Democrats as emblematic of broader concerns about executive overreach and erosion of civil liberties.
Rep. Ansari warned that failure to enforce the Supreme Court’s decision could set a dangerous precedent. “This is the most terrifying example of lawlessness we’ve seen in recent months,” she said. “If we cannot count on our government to follow its own laws, then we are in serious trouble.”
Abrego Garcia’s case continues to wind its way through federal courts, while Democrats in Congress vow to keep public attention on what they describe as a fight for democratic integrity and human rights.
“More members will be coming here,” said Rep. Garcia. “This isn’t just about one person. It’s about the future of due process in America.”
