Page 3
Trump Administration Raps Congressman From Long Beach
By a MetNews Staff Writer
|
|
|
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, was in El Salvador yesterday when interviewed on CBS Morning Plus in connection with his efforts to secure the return to the U.S. of an illegal immigrant who was deported through an administrative error but whose presence is not sought by the Trump Administration in light of his ties to a terrorist gang. |
The White House yesterday assailed U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, and three other Democratic members of Congress for journeying to El Salvador as part of their protest to the deportation to that nation by the Trump Administration of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who had been, the lawmakers contend, illegally removed on March 15.
Abrego Garcia, according to the Department of Homeland Security, is an MS-13 terrorist gang member. He is being held in a maximum security prison in El Salvador, the Terrorism Confinement Center, although he has not suffered a conviction.
It is admitted by the administration that he was deported through an “administrative error,” but it is also admitted by Abrego Garcia that he entered the U.S. illegally. The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the government “to ‘facilitate’ Mr. Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been, had he not been wrongfully deported.”
The administration has interpreted the word “facilitate” as constituting something less than an order to effectuate the man’s return which, it maintains, it would be powerless to do.
Questions Posed
In a statement yesterday, the White House said:
“Why hasn’t Rep. Garcia spoken about these illegal immigrants putting his region at risk?
“• Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, a 43-year-old citizen of El Salvador, arrested in Los Angeles. He is charged with first-degree murder in the brutal slaying of a 13-year-old soccer player in Los Angeles, who was found discarded on the side of the road, and with the sexual assault of another young teenager in 2022.
“• Noe Diaz De Leon, a citizen of Mexico, arrested by ICE Los Angeles. He has convictions for attempted murder of a peace officer, burglary, and possession of a controlled substance.
“• Boxiao Song, a citizen of China, arrested by ICE Los Angeles. He is a convicted child sex offender.
“• Seung Hun Baik, a 39-year-old citizen of South Korea, arrested by ICE Los Angeles. He is wanted in his home country for an aggravated offense involving psychotropic drugs.”
Similar questions were directed to Reps. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., and Maxine Dexter, D-Ore, who are also in El Salvador.
Garcia’s Stance
Garcia said on Sunday:
“Trump is defying a Supreme Court order to bring Kilmar home. We’re there to obviously demand his release and to continue the pressure on the administration.”
He said yesterday that the situation is “incredibly serious” and is “”on its way to a major constitutional crisis.”
The Congressman remarked that “[t]he courts have to be a check on the presidency and on the Congress,” adding:
“We all know those basic separation of powers.”
He told “CBS Mornings Plus”:
“We’re not going to be stopped from doing the right thing in standing up for due process and the Constitution.”
Administration Position
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller on April 14 said:
“The Supreme Court said the district court order was unlawful and its main components were unlawful and reversed 9-0 unanimously, stating clearly that neither the Secretary of State or President could be compelled by anybody to forcibly retrieve a citizen of El Salvador from El Salvador who, again, is a member of MS-13, which—as I’m sure you understand—rapes little girls, murders women, murders children, is engaged in barbaric activities in the world. And I can promise you if he was your neighbor, you would move right away.”
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia Mclaughlin declared April 14:
“I think this illegal alien is exactly where he belongs—home in El Salvador. He was in our country illegally, he is from El Salvador, was born in El Salvador, and, oh, the media forgot to mention: He is a MS-13 gang member. The media would love for you to believe that this is a media darling, that he is just a Maryland father. Osama Bin Laden was also a father, and yet, he was not a good guy, and they actually are both terrorists. He should be in this El Salvador prison, a prison for terrorists, and I hope he will remain there.”
Copyright 2025, Metropolitan News Company