Critics blast Democrats' 'pathetic' plan to visit alleged MS-13 gang member deported to El Salvadoran prison
Many conservatives on social media were outraged over what they called Democrats’ "pathetic" plan to visit an El Salvadoran prison in protest of the Trump administration’s deportation policies.
Axios reported on Tuesday that Reps. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., and Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., sent a letter to House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., requesting an official congressional delegation (CODEL) to conduct a "welfare check" of deported El Salvadoran and alleged MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
The Supreme Court upheld a lower court's order last week requiring the government to "facilitate" Abrego Garcia’s release after what the Trump administration admitted was an "administrative error." However, the White House has defended the deportation based on Abrego Garcia’s alleged ties to MS-13, a designated terrorist organization, and said his release is up to El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
Several Democrats have attacked the Trump administration for this decision, with Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen revealing on Tuesday that he plans to travel to El Salvador himself to "show solidarity" with Abrego Garcia if he is not returned.
Conservatives called out Democrats for planning an "elaborate international photo-op" in support of illegal immigrants and criminals while ignoring victims in the U.S.
Washington Times columnist Tim Murtaugh declared, "They should go. Let the whole country see that they care more about illegal aliens than they do about law-abiding Americans. There could never be a clearer example. Also, this is further proof that the grip the extreme left has on Democrats is increasingly tighter."
"Democrats will orchestrate an elaborate international photo-op on behalf of non-citizens but won’t even stand to pay respects to the family of Laken Riley who was murdered by an illegal alien," National Review staff writer Caroline Downey remarked.
GOP deputy comms director Abigail Jackon wrote, "1. He’s an illegal alien, not a ‘Maryland man.’ 2. It’s pathetic watching Democrats care more about illegal aliens with gang ties than they do about their own constituents who were murdered by illegal aliens. This is why they lost and will keep losing."
"Gonna be wild when we find out Democrats’ little Zero Dark Thirty op to bust a cartel terrorist out of prison in El Salvador is just cover for a taxpayer-funded weekend jaunt to a tropical paradise none of them has visited before," Federalist CEO Sean Davis joked.
"They'll travel to a foreign country to protest an illegal being returned to their home country but couldn't be bothered to vote for the Laken Riley Act or meet with any of the families of victims of illegal immigrant crime," Daily Caller senior editor Amber Duke wrote.
"They wouldn't even stand up at President Trump's Joint Session speech to honor Laken Riley's family, but they will travel to a different country in order to bring an illegal alien back to the United States," White House staffer Greg Price commented.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Comer’s office for comment.
Though the Trump administration claimed Bukele had the authority to release Abrego Garcia, Bukele cast doubt on a return.
"How can I smuggle a terrorist into the U.S.? I don't have the power to return him to the United States," Bukele said.
Abrego Garcia was granted temporary protection status in the U.S. by a court in 2019 from being removed to El Salvador, after it was determined he would face persecution from gangs if he were removed to his home country.
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The Supreme Court last week upheld a lower court's decision to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia. It acknowledged that Abrego Garcia was subject to a 2019 withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador, and that the removal to El Salvador was "therefore illegal." The Court stressed that the government must facilitate his release from custody in El Salvador and treat his case as if he were never deported.
However, top Trump officials said the Supreme Court's decision was actually a victory that reaffirmed the president's broad authority over foreign policy.
Fox News Digital's Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.