You’d be forgiven for thinking this headline came straight out of a satire column: House Democrats are organizing a congressional delegation—yes, a taxpayer-funded, security-enhanced, official mission—to El Salvador. Their goal? Not trade negotiations. Not foreign aid accountability. Not even border security.
No, their mission is to pressure a foreign government into releasing an illegal alien from one of the world’s most secure prisons.
From colleague Tyler Olson. Van Hollen announces he’s heading to El Salvador tomorrow to try to bring Abrego Garcia back to the United States.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) April 15, 2025
At the center of this bizarre crusade is Kilmar Ábrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national deported by the Trump administration and currently held at CECOT—El Salvador’s high-security prison for suspected gang members and national threats. Garcia, who resided in Maryland and has alleged MS-13 ties, has now become the cause célèbre of a progressive rescue effort that looks less like a legal oversight mission and more like a public relations stunt.
Leading this campaign are Reps. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Maxwell Frost (D-FL), who’ve formally requested authorization from Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) to dispatch an official CODEL to El Salvador. Axios reports that dozens of House Democrats have expressed interest in tagging along. Apparently, the plight of one deported non-citizen trumps the interest of law-abiding Americans.
Quite the hill to die on… Say it once I’ll say it again. https://t.co/C3uX2IZAMI
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) April 15, 2025
Their justification? They claim the Supreme Court ordered Garcia’s return. Except it didn’t.
In reality, the Court said the U.S. government must “facilitate” his return—not effectuate it—and those are worlds apart in legal terms. Federal courts, including the one that issued the original ruling, cannot compel a sovereign nation like El Salvador to release a prisoner, nor can they override the executive branch’s authority in foreign policy.
As this misguided mission gains steam, the silence is deafening when it comes to the murder of Rachel Morin, a mother of five and fellow Maryland resident. She was raped and killed by an illegal immigrant—but her name doesn’t get a hashtag, a CODEL, or even a press release from these same lawmakers.
Ask yourself why they’re doing this entire focused media blitz around one criminal illegal alien who was shamelessly gaming our clown asylum laws for a decade https://t.co/9sXBMCpqfS
— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) April 15, 2025
Apparently, in the hierarchy of Democratic outrage, the deported non-citizen ranks higher than the citizen victim of brutal violence.
