Abrego Garcia and the Rule of Law
Apr. 15th, 2025 02:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chris_gerribSo, the Trump Administration is resisting efforts to return Abrego Garcia from America's new gulag in El Salvador. First, due process is guaranteed to "all persons" in the Constitution - NOT citizens, legal residents - "all persons." This is due to the obvious fact that if the government can declare that somebody is here illegally and therefore imprison them, then there's nothing to prevent the government from doing that to everybody. Just to be clear - Albrego Garcia has NOT been deported. Deported people are free to do whatever. He's not - he's in prison.
Now, Trump and his apologists say that Albrego Garcia is a dangerous gang-member and/or terrorist. This is highly dubious. As provided by this article, here are the facts.
1) Albrego Garcia was not a gang member in El Salvador. His family owned a small business which was extorted by a gang. Part of the tribute / street tax demanded was that Albrego Garcia join said gang.
2) In 2011, when Albrego Garcia was 16 and to avoid his getting drafted and/or killed by the gang, his family sent him to the US. He moved to Maryland, where his US-citizen brother lived. He did not enter here legally.
3) On March 28, 2019—during the first Trump administration (and 8 years after arriving in the US) he was picked up by local police while standing in front of a Home Depot. The local police tried to get him to provide information on local gang activity, which, not being a gang member, he could not.
4) The only evidence every provided to the justice system to prove Albrego Garcia's gang ties was that he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie and that a confidential informant said he was in a gang. This CI was working for a local detective who, in the period between arrest and hearing, was suspended by his local department.
5) In October of 2019, the immigration judge granted him "withholding of removal" and released him from jail. While in jail, he married his US-citizen girlfriend and they have since had a child together.) The government did not appeal the withholding of removal, so this ruling is final. He has been making annual check-in visits to immigration, most recently on January 2, 2025.
In short, the guy's lived here for 14 years and was granted permission to stay by the first Trump Administration. There was no reason to remove him.
Now, Trump and his apologists say that Albrego Garcia is a dangerous gang-member and/or terrorist. This is highly dubious. As provided by this article, here are the facts.
1) Albrego Garcia was not a gang member in El Salvador. His family owned a small business which was extorted by a gang. Part of the tribute / street tax demanded was that Albrego Garcia join said gang.
2) In 2011, when Albrego Garcia was 16 and to avoid his getting drafted and/or killed by the gang, his family sent him to the US. He moved to Maryland, where his US-citizen brother lived. He did not enter here legally.
3) On March 28, 2019—during the first Trump administration (and 8 years after arriving in the US) he was picked up by local police while standing in front of a Home Depot. The local police tried to get him to provide information on local gang activity, which, not being a gang member, he could not.
4) The only evidence every provided to the justice system to prove Albrego Garcia's gang ties was that he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie and that a confidential informant said he was in a gang. This CI was working for a local detective who, in the period between arrest and hearing, was suspended by his local department.
5) In October of 2019, the immigration judge granted him "withholding of removal" and released him from jail. While in jail, he married his US-citizen girlfriend and they have since had a child together.) The government did not appeal the withholding of removal, so this ruling is final. He has been making annual check-in visits to immigration, most recently on January 2, 2025.
In short, the guy's lived here for 14 years and was granted permission to stay by the first Trump Administration. There was no reason to remove him.
