Progressive Democrats took to social media Friday to cheer the release of alleged MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) posted a celebratory message on X, calling the release “great news” and insisting Abrego Garcia “should never have been deported & detained by ICE in the first place.” The caucus vowed to continue fighting “to free all who have been unjustly detained & end Trump’s war on our communities.”
Immigration agents arrested Abrego Garcia in March and deported him to El Salvador later that month along with more than 200 other foreign nationals. They carried out the repatriation despite a 2019 withholding of removal order that barred his return. The Trump administration defended the decision, labeling him an MS-13 gang member and accused wife-beater who poses a threat to public safety.
Democrats have been rallying around Abrego Garcia, with lawmakers pressing for his return to the U.S. despite human smuggling charges and alleged MS-13 ties. Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen led the effort in April, traveling to El Salvador alongside four House Democrats to demand Abrego Garcia’s release and repatriation. Days later, Illinois Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker escalated the campaign by ordering state officials to explore boycott measures against El Salvador unless its government cooperated. (RELATED: Suspected MS-13 Gangbanger Democrats Rushed To Defend Named In Second Domestic Abuse Case)
US Senator Chris Van Hollen speaks during a press conference at a city viewpoint in Antiguo Cuscatlán, El Salvador, on April 16, 2025. (Photo by MARVIN RECINOS/AFP via Getty Images)
The four House Democrats — Reps. Maxwell Frost of Florida, Robert Garcia of California, Maxine Dexter of Oregon, and Yassamin Ansari of Arizona — stayed at the five-star Hilton San Salvador, nestled in the shadow of the city’s iconic volcano, according to a source who spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation. But not all Democrats were on board, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries reportedly urging his caucus to stop traveling to El Salvador over the case.
Abrego Garcia returned to the U.S. in June and had been held in a Tennessee facility for several months. Federal authorities indicted him on charges of smuggling individuals from Central and South America into the country between 2016 and 2025. His case stems from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee where police found nine undocumented migrants crammed into his vehicle.
Federal judges in Tennessee approved Abrego Garcia’s pre-trial release in July, but the Trump administration delayed it for 30 days, citing his risk of flight and threat to public safety. His legal team then hired a private firm to securely transport him from Tennessee to Maryland, court records show.
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