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CV NEWS FEED // Democratic lawmakers are urging fellow party members to scale back trips to El Salvador in response to growing backlash over efforts to retrieve Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a deported illegal immigrant and MS-13 gang member, The Bulwark reported Wednesday.
The quiet shift in strategy—allegedly supported by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.—comes as some Democrats continue pressuring the Trump administration to bring Abrego Garcia back to the US.
“This is not the right issue to talk about due process,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, during a Fox News interview this week. “This is not the right case. This is not the right person to be saying that we need to bring him back to the United States.”
According to two Democratic aides and a lawmaker who spoke to The Bulwark, Jeffries has privately discouraged further travel. “They want to let the El Salvador stuff slow down,” one senior House staffer said.
However, Jeffries’ office has denied the claim.
“Jeffries has repeatedly said, House Democrats will never stop fighting for the release of Mr. Abrego Garcia,” spokesperson Christie Stephenson told The Bulwark after the article’s release.
Abrego Garcia, originally from El Salvador, had been living illegally in Maryland. Though he was granted protected status in 2019 due to potential threats of gang violence if deported, the Trump administration removed him from the US last month.
His deportation triggered a series of protest trips to El Salvador by Democrats, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Reps. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., and Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., drawing internal criticism from other Democrats.
“One trip was sufficient,” another House staffer said. “They should understand that what they’re doing is going to be hurting us in the long run.”
The Supreme Court recently ruled that the Trump administration must help facilitate Abrego Garcia’s release, a move the administration has contested as judicial overreach.
“The United States does not control the sovereign nation of El Salvador, nor can it compel El Salvador to follow a federal judge’s bidding,” wrote Solicitor General John Sauer in an emergency appeal earlier this month.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has firmly rejected the calls to release Abrego Garcia.
“How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?” he said. “We’re not very fond of releasing terrorists into our country.”
Despite the controversy, Jeffries has not publicly condemned fellow Democrats’ repeated trips to highlight the case. When asked Monday whether lawmakers should continue advocating for Abrego Garcia’s return, Jeffries dodged the question and instead launched a broad critique of Trump’s presidency.
