News: Four House Democrats are heading to El Salvador to visit the notorious CECOT prison and keep attention on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant who was wrongfully deported to the country.
Democratic Reps. Robert Garcia (Calif.), Maxwell Frost (Fla.), Maxine Dexter (Ore.) and Yassamin Ansari (Ariz.) will meet with officials at the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador and receive classified briefings during their visit. They will advocate for Abrego Garcia’s release but currently have no plans to meet with him directly.
Garcia and Frost, both House Oversight Committee members, initially requested to travel as an official CODEL to El Salvador. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) rejected that request, saying he wouldn’t “approve a single dime of taxpayer funds” for the trip.
The Abrego Garcia case has become a flashpoint for both parties in recent weeks, with Democrats slamming President Donald Trump for defying a court order and denying Abrego Garcia due process. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) flew to El Salvador and met with Abrego Garcia last week.
Abrego Garcia, an undocumented Salvadoran immigrant who is married to a U.S. citizen, was deported by ICE despite a court order that barred his removal from the country. Abrego Garcia was briefly housed at CECOT, known for its harsh conditions, before recently being moved to another detention center.
Several Democrats, including members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, have said they want to visit CECOT recently. But Republicans have also had an interest in the prison complex.
House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.), along with a handful of other GOP lawmakers, visited El Salvador last week. Some of those members shared photos of themselves at CECOT with a message praising Trump’s deportation efforts.
