Trump Deports Salvadoran Immigrant Due to Administrative Error
Refuses to Comply with Supreme Court Order for Return
Senator Kennedy Says "They Messed Up" as Anti-Trump Protests Spread
Amid growing public outrage over the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an immigrant deported to El Salvador due to an administrative error by the Donald Trump administration, criticism has also emerged within the Republican Party.
According to Yonhap News on the 20th (local time), citing Reuters, Republican Senator John Neely Kennedy of Louisiana made a rare criticism of the Trump administration during an interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press." Garcia had illegally entered the United States in 2011 to escape gang violence in El Salvador, but in 2019 he filed an asylum application, and an immigration judge granted him legally protected status, allowing him to reside in the United States legally.
When the host of the program asked whether it was lawful for President Trump to transfer American citizens who are criminals to foreign prisons, Senator Kennedy responded, "That is not appropriate. It should not be considered appropriate or moral," adding, "We should not send prisoners abroad." He also criticized the government's deportation of Garcia to El Salvador, saying, "They messed up. He should have had a chance to explain himself before being deported to El Salvador. The government will not admit it, but this was a mistake."
Last month, the Trump administration deported Garcia, who had been residing legally, to his home country of El Salvador, claiming he was associated with gangs. He is now reportedly being held at the "Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT)," a facility notorious for human rights abuses, putting the Trump administration's administrative error under scrutiny. In response, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that he be brought back to the United States, but the government has not complied with the ruling.
On the 19th, at an anti-Trump rally held in Washington DC, protesters held signs reading "Killmarl Home." Photo by AFP
Amid these issues, anti-Trump protests have recently spread across the United States. According to local media such as the New York Times (NYT), on the 19th, the 250th anniversary of the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, more than 700 rallies were held in cities including Washington DC, New York, Chicago, and Miami. The rallies and protests held that day were part of the "50501 Movement," which aims to organize 50 anti-Trump protests in 50 states over the course of one day.
According to the NYT, thousands of protesters gathered around the Washington Monument, a symbol of the capital, to hold a rally demanding Garcia's return. They marched from the Washington Monument to the White House, 1.6 kilometers away, waving signs with messages such as "Trump Must Go" and "No Kings," and chanting slogans like "Bring Kilmar Home."
In New York, thousands of protesters also condemned the Trump administration's policy of forcibly deporting immigrants, chanting, "A united people will never be defeated." Hunter Dunn, spokesperson for 50501, told the Washington Post (WP), "The 50501 campaign stands for the defense of democracy, the protection of the Constitution, opposition to the abuse of executive power, and a nonviolent grassroots movement." The organization also declared the day as a "Day of Action" in response to the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policies, economic uncertainty caused by unpredictable tariff policies, and federal workforce reductions, urging citizens to resist.
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