Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York lambasted the Trump administration after El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said El Salvador could not return Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to the U.S.
Garcia’s deportation to the infamous terrorist prison in El Salvador has become a flash point in the political debate over President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans. Critics point out that the administration has admitted in court that Garcia’s removal was due to a “clerical error,” but Trump says he cannot be returned to the U.S.
‘The question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?’
Bukele was asked if he would allow Garcia to be released from the prison after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously sided with a lower court order that the administration should do what it can to “facilitate” his return.
“How can I return him to the United States?” he responded. “Like, I smuggle him into the United States? Of course I’m not going to do it. It’s like … this, the question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don’t have the power to return him to the United States.”
Schumer accused the administration of attacking the rule of law and due process.
“President Bukele’s comment today is pure nonsense. The law is clear, due process was grossly violated, and the Supreme Court has clearly spoken that the Trump administration must facilitate and effectuate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. He should be returned to the U.S. immediately,” read the statement.
“Due process and the rule of law are cornerstones of American society for citizens and noncitizens alike, and not to follow that is dangerous and outrageous. A threat to one is a threat to all.”
Garcia’s defenders point to the fact that he had not been accused of a crime since coming to the U.S. in 2011. His accusers say that his claim to stay in the U.S. depended on the threat from a gang in El Salvador that no longer exists.
The president had initially told reporters he would respect the order from the Supreme Court, but the administration said in a filing Sunday that the courts were violating the separation of powers.
“The order properly requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ 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 improperly sent to El Salvador,” read the order from the Supreme Court.
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