Free Kilmar

This human rights outrage cannot be permitted to persist

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

—Martin Niemöller

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a political prisoner, just as surely as were Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian (held in Iran), Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich (incarcerated in Russia), WNBA star Brittney Griner (held in Russia), or Paul Whelan (also held in Russia). All five were imprisoned without adequate justification by dictatorial governments in abrogation of their United States Constitutional and international human rights. And yet, because Jason and Evan were attached to national newspapers, Griner is a sports celebrity and three-time Olympic gold medalist, and Whelan a former US Marine, they received awareness and unremitting national campaigns of protest. Constant pressure was put on both the American and foreign governments to free them.

Abrego Garcia has, as yet, received no such support because he is, for most Americans, a faceless Salvadorian. This disparity in support for Abrego Garcia and coverage of his ordeal must end. Abrego Garcia was legally present in the U.S. He has never been charged with, let alone convicted of, a crime. (He was not, for example, caught with any illegal substance, as was Griner.) The difference here is that Donald Trump, in violation of court orders, Abrego Garcia’s constitutional rights, and international law, is conspiring in plain sight with El Salvadoran strongman Nayib Bukele to keep him in prison gulag.

“I don’t have the power to return him to the United States,” Bukele said in an Oval Office meeting that exceeded in depravity even the Trump-Zelensky meeting. Bukele suggested he would have to smuggle Abrego Garcia back into the U.S., indicating that the Trump administration was preventing his return.

This legal and rhetorical subterfuge (plus the lies from Trump minions that the Supreme Court sided with Trump 9-0 and that he had been adjudicated to be a member of MS-13) must not overtake the gravamen of this human right abuse: He is wrongfully held under appalling conditions. (The claim he was a gang member comes from two uncorroborated, hearsay documents that contradict one another.)

Likewise, the technical debate whether Trump has defied court order or only crept up to the edge is as misleading as it is irrelevant. U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis ordered the government to report back on his status; it refused. Yesterday, Judge Xinis hammered the government’s lawyer for failing to provide evidence that his client had attempted to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return, as the Supreme Court ordered. She warned, “There will be no tolerance for gamesmanship or grandstanding.”

She also instructed the government that discovery must be prompt (no vacations or conflicting appointments would be tolerated, she warned). When the DOJ lawyer attempted to refer to the Oval Office meeting as evidence the government was attempting to comply, Judge Xinis slapped him down. “No press release is going to move the court the same way that sworn, under oath testimony from persons with knowledge will…if you have objections, you’re going to have to make them consistent with the rules,” she declared. The judge made it plain that she is determined to conclude the discovery/fact-finding process within two weeks. In effect, she told the Trump crew to provide hard proof of compliance or face the consequences (e.g., a contempt ruling).

The Supreme Court ordered Trump to facilitate his return. But he is refusing do so; indeed he now brags about his plan to send American citizens (or “homegrowns”) to rot in Salvadoran jails. If this is not a constitutional crisis—a president acting in utter defiance of court orders (including the unrelated matter of returning access to the Associated Press), I am not sure what would be. That said, quibbling over what constitutes a “crisis” should not deflect us from Garcia’s outrageous, unlawful, inhumane confinement.

While the courts and Trump’s (anti-) Justice Department continue to fence, the media, civil society, human rights advocates, and ordinary Americans should take up Abrego Garcia’s cause. Where are the “Free Kilmar” billboards? Where are the front-page stories counting down his days in hellish captivity? Why was today the first time his family was featured on new and old media outlets? Why no daily protests at the U.S. State Department and the Salvadoran embassy? The conspiracy of silence and complacency must end.

Fortunately, some Democratic lawmakers seem serious about rescuing Abrego Garcia. “Democratic lawmakers led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen say they are willing to go to El Salvador to seek the release of a man who the Justice Department says it mistakenly deported there—a plan that has gained steam after the country's president said during a visit to the White House that he would not send the man back to the U.S.,” NBC News reports. Whether they are allowed to go (and confirm the appalling conditions under which Abrego Garcia is held) or not, Democrats in Congress must do everything in their power, including running Senate filibusters to force Trump and Bukele to end this corrupt conspiracy to deprive Abrego Garcia of his liberty.

The international community (both organizations and individual countries), should take action, as they would when any vile human rights abuse play a role. Trump, Bukele, and their minions should be subject to all applicable international sanctions. (Many countries have a Magnitsky Act counterpart.)

Americans cannot control what other nations do, but they can with one voice express outrage over the devious plot to “disappear” innocent men and women. If we do not stand up for Abrego Garcia, there will be no end to the disappearance of others, including innocent American citizens.

So please, do your part and speak out now for the liberation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.