DMV New Liberals Condemn El Salvador President's Reticence Against Supreme Court Order to Return Maryland Man
Washington, DC – The DMV New Liberals strongly condemn the statements made by El Salvador President Nayib Bukele regarding the illegal arrest and deportation of Prince George’s County resident, Kilmar Abrego Garcia. These statements were not only cruel but stand in blatant defiance of the US Supreme Court’s April 10 order, which states Mr. Abrego Garcia must be returned to the country. Mr. Abrego Garcia legally resides in this country, protected by a 2019 court order. We also condemn President Donald Trump, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who have abdicated all responsibility to bring Mr. Abrego Garcia home. We join others in calling for Mr. Abrego Garcia’s swift and safe return home.
We denounce the White House’s refusal to comply with court orders. Every branch of government is subject to the laws of the land. This is a foundational aspect of democratic societies and must be adhered to for a free, fair, and thriving country. Furthermore, the notion that persons in the United States can be deported to another country under dubious legality and without any due process is appalling and unconstitutional. Persons in the United States, regardless of their citizenship status, are entitled to the human rights of due process and appeal.
Conversely, we commend the commitment shown by the Maryland Congressional Democrats to repatriate Mr. Abrego Garcia, especially Senator Chris Van Hollen, who has vowed to travel to El Salvador personally. We urge other members of Congress to do everything in their power to return Mr. Abrego Garcia to his family in Maryland.
Background
On April 14, 2025, in response to a question at the Oval Office, President Bukele said, “How can I return [Mr. Abrego Garcia] to the United States? Am I going to smuggle him? Of course I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous.”
Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador on March 14, accused of affiliation with MS-13, a designated foreign terrorist organization. He has never been charged or convicted of a crime.
Mr. Abrego Garcia fled to the United States in 2011 at the age of 16, following threats to his and his family’s life by local gangs. In 2019, Mr. Abrego Garcia was granted “withholding of removal” status due to real and present fears of gang persecution. On April 4, 2025, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the administration to return him, and on April 10, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the judgment.
Mr. Abrego Garcia is currently detained incommunicado within the Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum security prison in El Salvador. This prison has been called “one of the most notoriously inhumane and dangerous prisons in the world.”
