A Republican senator says the deportation of a Maryland father to a megaprison in El Savador was the result of a “screwup” by the Trump administration.
But Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said Kilmar Abrego Garcia was never going to be returned to the United States because the White House did not want to admit its mistake.
“This was a screwup, in my opinion,” Kennedy told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. “The administration won’t admit it, but this was a screwup. Mr. Garcia was not supposed to be sent to El Salvador. He was sent to El Salvador.”
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He went on: “And I understand why the administration bowed up and said, ‘We won’t admit it’s a mistake.’ Because if they do, they’ll have their throats torn out. But it was a screwup.”
Apart from pointing out the administration’s “screwup” in deporting Garcia, wrongly accused of being a member of the international criminal gang MS-13, the senator also broke ranks with President Donald Trump over his proposal to expand the El Salvador deportations to include American citizens as well.
The idea was floated by Trump during an Oval Office meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in which Trump was heard telling his guest that “homegrowns are next.”
“We have our own laws, we have the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution,” Kennedy told Meet the Press. “We shouldn’t send prisoners to foreign countries in my judgment.”
When asked by host Kristen Welker whether he believes it is moral for the president to send U.S. citizens to foreign prisons, the Louisiana senator responded: “No, ma’am. Nor does it—nor should it be considered appropriate or moral.”
The Supreme Court recently ordered the White House to “facilitate” Garcia’s return to the U.S. in a rare 9-0 ruling, but their demands have so far been ignored by both the Trump administration and the El Salvador government.
Last week, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, travelled to El Salvador to meet with Garcia, and later told Welker that his imprisonment was due to an “administrative error” by the White House.
But when asked to comment on his claims, Kennedy said Van Hollen was being “next-level obtuse” if he thought Garcia might be returned to the U.S.
“Well, Chris is my friend. And I respect him. And he’s certainly entitled to his opinion,” said Kennedy. “But in my judgment, he is utterly and gloriously wrong.”
“Unless you’re next-level obtuse, you know that Mr. Garcia is never coming back to the United States, ever,” he added.
Kennedy stopped short of blaming Trump directly for Garcia’s predicament, and instead claimed Bukele was responsible for the Maryland man’s continued imprisonment.
The senator said Bukele “said up front in the Oval Office that he was not going to return Mr. Garcia. No federal judge, even J. Wilkinson, has authority over a sovereign country.”
He added: “Besides that, it should not go unnoticed that Mr. Bukele is much closer to President Xi in China than he is to President Trump. Xi is spending billions of dollars to build infrastructure in El Salvador. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve discussed this case.”
The senator said Bukele “said up front in the Oval Office that he was not going to return Mr. Garcia. No federal judge, even J. Wilkinson, has authority over a sovereign country.”
He added: “Besides that, it should not go unnoticed that Mr. Bukele is much closer to President Xi in China than he is to President Trump. Xi is spending billions of dollars to build infrastructure in El Salvador. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve discussed this case.”
