Kilmar Abrego Garcia. By now, everyone should know his name, and if you don’t, I’ll tell you why you should. Abrego Garcia was wrongly deported from the United States to El Salvador under the false pretense that he was affiliated with the MS-13 gang. Abrego Garcia has a clean record and has no criminal history in the U.S. Abrego Garcia, like many, has been falsely deported to the highest security prison in El Salvador known as The Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT).
What happened to due process?
In February, President Trump designated MS-13 as a foreign terrorist organization and made the decision to remove members of the organization as soon as possible, ignoring due process. On March 12, Abrego Garcia was pulled over and arrested in Baltimore with his young son still in the car. Abrego Garcia’s partner, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, was contacted to come and retrieve their son from the scene but received no further information about what was happening.
On March 15, Abrego Garcia, along with hundreds of others, was deported to CECOT — without due process. This is essential to the case; ICE agents ignored due process, which violates legal rights owed to a person as stated in the Fifth and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Without due process, the government can jail, deport or punish anyone without reason nor recourse, which is a very dangerous thing that is becoming a reality.
The battle between the Supreme Court and the Trump Administration
President Trump is trying to see how far he can push the boundaries of the law with his immigration policy— spoiler alert, it’s messy. Why is he able to ignore due process? Is no one going to hold President Trump accountable for what he is doing? Even the highest court of the United States of America, the Supreme Court, ruled on April 10, that the Trump Administration must facilitate a return of Abrego Garcia. However, the Trump Administration countered and said that their deportation of Abrego Garcia was an “administrative error” that they aren’t able to do anything about because he is no longer in the U.S.
During President Trump’s meeting with El Salvador’s President Bukele, the question of Abrego Garcia’s return was raised. President Bukele stated, “I don’t have the power to return him to the United States” and then said, “How could I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?” Both presidents claim that they have no power and cannot return Abrego Garcia back to his family in Maryland.
President Trump flat out ignored the ruling of the Supreme Court, which goes against Trump’s previous claim that he “respects” the Court and would bring an individual back if instructed to do so. The words of Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also defy the ruling of the Supreme Court; all of their statements sum to claim that Abrego Garcia is a citizen of El Salvador, and now that he is back in his native country, he is no longer on American land. This means that American law no longer applies to Abrego Garcia and that there is nothing else to be done. It’s fancy way for the U.S. to say, “it’s out of our hands and there is nothing we can do.”
The Supreme Court also stated that, “The United States acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was subject to a withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador, and that the removal to El Salvador was therefore illegal.” Not only did the Trump Administration disobey the Supreme Court, they are also acting on their own whim and ignoring the checks and balances system that is in place to keep any of the branches from getting too powerful.
What does this mean for the rest of us?
Many Americans think that they are safe from President Trump’s new immigration policy because they are American born citizens with nothing to lose. Well, I hate to break it to you, but President Trump stated during his meeting with President Bukele that, “the homegrowns are next,” followed by the joke, “You’ve got to build about five more places.” Both President Trump and President Bukele chuckled at the joke. Being wrongfully deported to a maximum security prison when you’re innocent is no joke, yet here we are. If President Trump and President Bukele are able to joke about innocent lives, then what does that reveal about their character? What does that reveal about how they view their citizens?
Lawmakers, lawyers and politicians are weighing in on Abrego Garcia’s case and many reach the conclusion that what happened to Abrego Garcia could be a reality for anyone in America because the “constitutional crisis” is now a reality. If the President of the United States is able to ignore the rulings of the Supreme Court and act as if the Constitution doesn’t exist, then that means that no one is safe. If President Trump is true to his words, then that means “homegrowns” a.k.a. American citizens can also be deported to CECOT or another high security prison. If the Supreme Court was not able to get President Trump to listen and correct his mistake, then who will? The Constitution cannot work if it is treated as optional.