Cory Booker to visit El Salvador in effort to return wrongly deported man to US

[PSPS]

Source: The Guardian

Cory Booker to visit El Salvador in effort to return wrongly deported man to US
Chris Stein in Washington
Thu 17 Apr 2025 11.29 EDT

Cory Booker plans to travel to El Salvador, a source familiar with the New Jersey senator’s itinerary said, as Democrats seek to pressure the Trump administration to return a wrongly deported Maryland resident. Booker’s trip to the Central American country would come after the Maryland senator Chris Van Hollen traveled there this week to meet with his constituent Kilmar Ábrego García, a Salvadorian national deported last month in what the Trump administration acknowledged was an “administrative error”. Despite a supreme court ruling saying his administration must “facilitate” Ábrego García’s return, Trump has refused to take steps to do so, and El Salvador’s government on Wednesday denied Van Hollen a meeting with the deportee.

Ábrego García’s case has become a rallying cry for Democrats, who argue it is a sign of Donald Trump’s reckless approach to immigration enforcement and willingness to defy court orders. An immigration judge in 2019 had given Ábrego García protection from deportation, finding that he may face retaliation if he returns to El Salvador. Booker wrote on X earlier this week: “The Supreme Court was clear: the Trump administration must act to facilitate the return of Kilmar Ábrego García to the United States. There is no room for debate – yet Trump is refusing, in defiance of a lawful court order. “Every member of Congress should be standing up for the Constitution and demanding that the administration act to return Mr. Ábrego García to the U.S. and to his family.”

Trump administration officials have countered by accusing Democrats of caring more about undocumented immigrants than US citizens. On Monday, the Republican congressman Riley Moore toured El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), where US authorities say Ábrego García is being held, and gave a thumbs up in front of a cell packed with inmates.

Several other Democratic lawmakers have signaled they would like to visit El Salvador and Cecot, including Adriano Espaillat, chair of the Congressional Hispanic caucus, and Robert Garcia, Yassamin Ansari and Maxwell Alejandro Frost, all members of the investigative House oversight committee. Delia Ramirez of the House homeland security committee has also asked for a visit to Cecot.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/17/cory-booker-trump-garcia-deportation-el-salvador

[Bayard]

1. Senator Booker:

Walking the walk, and talking the talk.

[forgotmylogin]

8. At minimum, place the order in advance. We want "proof of life".

A video call, a photograph with a dated newspaper, something. An audio-only phone call is easily faked.

Our federal employee Donald Trump is using our money to pay El Salvador to house prisoners, there should be customer service and a "return policy".

If he's dead, we need to know that.

[FakeNoose]

16. Sen. Chris Van Hollen met with Kilmar yesterday and provided a photo

From AP News:



Link: https://apnews.com/article/abrego-garcia-el-salvador-trump-deportation-van-hollen-senator-81cca0ac24a9a312be97c730679f8dd1

I guess this would be considered "proof of life," am I right?

[slightlv]

18. Thank you. I finally found the story today.

I liked the fact they've dressed him up in "ordinary clean clothes"... no prison jumpsuit. I hope they don't think they're fooling anyone with that bit of theater. But I'm glad we've got proof of life, and that his wife and kids have been given a little bit of peace. I only wish he could get on a plan and come home with the Senator. I'm so proud of the Senator to push the issue this way. And wish safety for his trip home. I've been so worried about another Guyana happening.

[in2herbs]

2. During F47's first regime how effective was the group of Congresspeople who converged on the

border demanding to see and speak to the detainees being held unlawfully on US soil? Did their "show of force and support of detainees" obtain the release of any detainee? Were they allowed to see and speak to any detainee?

Sorry, any other member of Congress that goes to ES is wasting our tax dollars in exchange for a publicity shot.

[PSPS]

4. "is wasting our tax dollars in exchange for a publicity shot"

Wasting "our tax dollars?" Compared to what? Shoveling "our tax dollars" into the pockets of trump, his family, and musk?

Granted, he won't get to see him (they've likely already murdered him,) but this is how you keep the pressure on and resist fascism.

By the way, has anyone seen any evidence that Ábrego García actually arrived at the gulag? If not, he may have been deplaned "early" a la Argentina's death flights.

[Walleye]

9. Paying a corrupt dictator to put people in concentration camps is worse than a waste of tax dollars it's a perversion

[Wednesdays]

12. "DEMOCRATS...DO SOMETHING!!"

"Oh wait, not THAT."

[Lemon Lyman]

3. Good

It's good that Democrats are fighting & calling attention to this. Same thing will happen that happened with Senator Van Hollen though. I said as much before he went there. Their psycho dictator will coordinate with shitler and just refuse to work with Democrats. He'll refuse to let Democrats meet with this man.

[70sEraVet]

5. This stood out to me:

"accusing Democrats of caring more about undocumented immigrants than US citizens"? An easy 'come-back' to that, is to bring up that Trump is also wetdreaming about sending those US citizens, that they presume to love so much, to the SAME PRISON!

[Walleye]

10. What we care more about is the US Constitution. Apparently Republicans think it is too woke

How long before Trump takes out his sharpie and starts crossing out parts of the constitution?

[Lovie777]

6. Safe journey.......................

keep the pressure up.

[Marthe48]

7. Thank you Sen. Booker

I support people who keep the American spirit alive. felon and his mob can go to hell.

[Paladin]

11. Good! (nt)

[mdbl]

13. Congress needs to write and pass a law cancelling all support of this el salvador prison

Now!

[flamingdem]

14. Bukele assumes Dump will always be king

He needs to think ahead.

[slightlv]

15. Has anyone heard from Chris lately? What did he find? Is he still there or back in the U.S? nt

[FakeNoose]

17. Please see Post #16 above, AP News has photos & story as of Friday morning

Sen. Chris Van Hollen met with him yesterday (Thursday) in El Salvador.

"Proof of life" photo, and more details in the AP News story. I provided the link above.
(I'm posting this on Friday morning.)