House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks during a press conference at the Capitol on April 28, 2025. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
The issue has divided Democrats.
Progressives have embraced Abrego Garcia’s case as a symbol of what they say are unconstitutional deportations under President Donald Trump’s renewed immigration crackdown. But moderates are increasingly uneasy, pointing to the political risk of rallying around a figure with a checkered past.
Jeffries, who once demanded that Abrego Garcia be returned "immediately before he is killed," has not publicly addressed whether he supports the strategy of sending congressional delegations to El Salvador.
DEMOCRAT FAULTS HIS OWN PARTY FOR PICKING WRONG BATTLE WITH CASE OF DEPORTED MS-13 SUSPECT
Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., speaks at a press conference on the issue of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in San Salvador, El Salvadore, on April 21, 2025. (MARVIN RECINOS/AFP via Getty Images)
Though never charged, he was stopped while transporting eight undocumented passengers, and court documents in Maryland show a history of alleged domestic violence, including a judge labeling him a "violent repeat offender."
Despite this, Democrat lawmakers like Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Reps. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and Robert Garcia, D-Calif., have flown to El Salvador in recent weeks to draw attention to Abrego Garcia’s detention. Van Hollen's visit particularly sparked memes online with the now-infamous "margarita-gate" incident.
Critics within the party now worry that continued focus on the case and trips perceived as sympathetic to a deported gang suspect could backfire.
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"There’s a moral argument to be made," one Democrat aide told The Bulwark, "but it’s not clear this is the right poster case, and it’s definitely not the right political moment."
Jasmine is a writer at Fox News Digital and a military spouse based in New Orleans. Stories can be sent to jasmine.baehr@fox.com
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