Dems Recognize Winning Issue in Incident Where Man Was Erroneously Deported to El Salvador
Democrats are rallying to support Kilmar Abrego Garcia, even as immigration issues have typically leaned in favor of Republicans.
TroibNews 
Democrats have devised a strategy to confront Donald Trump regarding a significant deportation case that has recently emerged: they intend to avoid making it solely about immigration.
As the party rallies to support Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a resident of Maryland who was wrongly deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, Democrats are prioritizing themes of due process and the rule of law. This approach allows them to bypass the more complex and contentious issues surrounding immigration policy that have historically been a challenge for their party.
This carefully orchestrated strategy is designed to keep the discussion centered on the Trump administration's refusal to reinstate Abrego Garcia in the United States following a federal judge’s order for his return, which was later affirmed by the Supreme Court. In conversations with numerous Democratic lawmakers and strategists, they noted that the real-life consequences of Trump’s actions against the native Salvadoran present an opportunity to transform what could be an abstract debate about democratic rights into a compelling narrative.
“You have an individual, a Maryland resident, a union member whose union leadership has been calling for his relief, married to a U. S. citizen here with legal status, who was kidnapped, arrested, wrongly deported to El Salvador,” stated Rep. Yassamin Ansari, who recently visited the country to advocate for Abrego Garcia. “That is a terrifying prospect if it is allowed to be continued and let it go, because it opens the door for this to happen again. It emboldens the Trump administration to continue to disappear people.”
“I think the most important part of this story is the lack of due process,” she added in an interview.
Even Abrego Garcia’s spouse has reiterated the focus on due process, stating, “I’m fighting for Kilmar and for all the other Kilmars who have been unjustly deported without due process.”
However, Democrats face a delicate balance in their defense of Abrego Garcia, as strategists caution that the Trump administration has attempted to label him as a violent gang member and an “apparent woman beater.” The White House has mocked lawmakers who are advocating on his behalf.
Abrego Garcia’s family has refuted claims of gang affiliation, and a U.S. District Court judge ordered his return, citing a lack of evidence to support the allegations.
“We have to be careful to not get sucked into an argument where Republicans can say we care more about undocumented immigrants than American citizens … so that’s why [Democrats] keep talking about due process,” explained Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist. “We need to focus on how there needs to be a process to make sure that innocent people and citizens don’t get caught up in this, and that’s how we need to be talking about this.”
Abrego Garcia’s situation has rapidly become emblematic of Trump’s aggressive deportation policies. The president has sent numerous immigrants to El Salvador’s notorious mega-prison, asserting that high-profile deportees, including Abrego Garcia, are hardened criminals, while his aides work to compile evidence of Abrego Garcia’s supposed criminal history.
Yet, Abrego Garcia has never faced criminal charges, and federal judges have criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the case, characterizing the claims against him as strikingly “flimsy.” Moreover, even if he were the violent criminal the White House claims him to be, his deportation to El Salvador would be illegal due to a 2019 court ruling permitting him to remain in Maryland to avoid gang persecution, a key message that Democrats aim to communicate.
“Due process is the language of a constitutional democracy, and so we have to speak that language so people can understand other people’s situations,” remarked Rep. Jamie Raskin in an interview. “And I do believe that if we don’t stand up for the due process rights of non-citizens, they will quickly trample the due process rights of citizens.”
For years, Trump has wielded immigration and border security as a political weapon against Democrats. President Joe Biden's initial years in office were marked by significant border crossings, which led to hesitance among his aides to address the contentious issue. The Biden campaign and Democratic leaders only solidified a more robust immigration stance in June, just months ahead of the election—a move that many strategists consider too late.
Polling data from late March indicated that approximately half of voters backed Trump’s initiatives to expand deportations and tighten immigration controls, based on an Associated Press-NORC survey.
Nevertheless, deeper analysis of the surveys reveals that public opinion shifts when respondents are informed about Trump’s policies and the specific targets of his administration. Many voters favor basic legal protections for immigrants, as highlighted in a preliminary memo from the progressive Research Collaborative and ASO Communications, which compiled recent polling on this matter.
The findings revealed that a significant majority of voters support the notion that undocumented immigrants should only be deported under conditions of evidence and a hearing, with 60 percent insisting that the government must provide justification before deporting an immigrant to an unfamiliar country. Additionally, voters largely believe that the government should comply with court orders during the deportation process.
“For I can’t count how long, Democrats were counseled to not talk about abortion,” said Anat Shenker-Osorio, a political messaging researcher and campaign consultant. “To offer SAT-style syllogism: Dobbs is to abortion as these abductions are to immigration.”
Some Democrats have already begun to engage with Abrego Garcia’s situation, including Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who visited El Salvador last week to meet with him. Several House members, including Ansari, with constituencies that have significant Latino populations, journeyed to El Salvador recently as well.
“Democrats are hyper-cautious about this, and they often want a lot of data before they finally start talking about it,” observed Colin Rogero, a Democratic consultant who created Spanish-language ads for Biden and Kamala Harris’s presidential campaigns. “But you’re seeing members right now who are getting out in front of this, who are being aggressive, and I think you’ll see other Democrats get on board as they see it’s working.”
The party is counting on the emphasis on due process and the complex legal battle to strike a chord with the broader American electorate. They believe this strategy will give them the upper hand in framing the discussion of Abrego Garcia’s case, particularly after Republicans have used immigration and border security as central themes in their messaging for the upcoming 2024 election.
“It’s a bigger conversation about rule of law and what kind of country we are,” stated Evan Roth Smith, a lead pollster for Democratic-aligned Blueprint. “And it takes the Republicans out of their more comfortable immigration territory, which is, are we a country with a border or not? Which is a case they successfully made to voters.
Mark B Thomas for TROIB News
As the party rallies to support Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a resident of Maryland who was wrongly deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, Democrats are prioritizing themes of due process and the rule of law. This approach allows them to bypass the more complex and contentious issues surrounding immigration policy that have historically been a challenge for their party.
This carefully orchestrated strategy is designed to keep the discussion centered on the Trump administration's refusal to reinstate Abrego Garcia in the United States following a federal judge’s order for his return, which was later affirmed by the Supreme Court. In conversations with numerous Democratic lawmakers and strategists, they noted that the real-life consequences of Trump’s actions against the native Salvadoran present an opportunity to transform what could be an abstract debate about democratic rights into a compelling narrative.
“You have an individual, a Maryland resident, a union member whose union leadership has been calling for his relief, married to a U. S. citizen here with legal status, who was kidnapped, arrested, wrongly deported to El Salvador,” stated Rep. Yassamin Ansari, who recently visited the country to advocate for Abrego Garcia. “That is a terrifying prospect if it is allowed to be continued and let it go, because it opens the door for this to happen again. It emboldens the Trump administration to continue to disappear people.”
“I think the most important part of this story is the lack of due process,” she added in an interview.
Even Abrego Garcia’s spouse has reiterated the focus on due process, stating, “I’m fighting for Kilmar and for all the other Kilmars who have been unjustly deported without due process.”
However, Democrats face a delicate balance in their defense of Abrego Garcia, as strategists caution that the Trump administration has attempted to label him as a violent gang member and an “apparent woman beater.” The White House has mocked lawmakers who are advocating on his behalf.
Abrego Garcia’s family has refuted claims of gang affiliation, and a U.S. District Court judge ordered his return, citing a lack of evidence to support the allegations.
“We have to be careful to not get sucked into an argument where Republicans can say we care more about undocumented immigrants than American citizens … so that’s why [Democrats] keep talking about due process,” explained Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist. “We need to focus on how there needs to be a process to make sure that innocent people and citizens don’t get caught up in this, and that’s how we need to be talking about this.”
Abrego Garcia’s situation has rapidly become emblematic of Trump’s aggressive deportation policies. The president has sent numerous immigrants to El Salvador’s notorious mega-prison, asserting that high-profile deportees, including Abrego Garcia, are hardened criminals, while his aides work to compile evidence of Abrego Garcia’s supposed criminal history.
Yet, Abrego Garcia has never faced criminal charges, and federal judges have criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the case, characterizing the claims against him as strikingly “flimsy.” Moreover, even if he were the violent criminal the White House claims him to be, his deportation to El Salvador would be illegal due to a 2019 court ruling permitting him to remain in Maryland to avoid gang persecution, a key message that Democrats aim to communicate.
“Due process is the language of a constitutional democracy, and so we have to speak that language so people can understand other people’s situations,” remarked Rep. Jamie Raskin in an interview. “And I do believe that if we don’t stand up for the due process rights of non-citizens, they will quickly trample the due process rights of citizens.”
For years, Trump has wielded immigration and border security as a political weapon against Democrats. President Joe Biden's initial years in office were marked by significant border crossings, which led to hesitance among his aides to address the contentious issue. The Biden campaign and Democratic leaders only solidified a more robust immigration stance in June, just months ahead of the election—a move that many strategists consider too late.
Polling data from late March indicated that approximately half of voters backed Trump’s initiatives to expand deportations and tighten immigration controls, based on an Associated Press-NORC survey.
Nevertheless, deeper analysis of the surveys reveals that public opinion shifts when respondents are informed about Trump’s policies and the specific targets of his administration. Many voters favor basic legal protections for immigrants, as highlighted in a preliminary memo from the progressive Research Collaborative and ASO Communications, which compiled recent polling on this matter.
The findings revealed that a significant majority of voters support the notion that undocumented immigrants should only be deported under conditions of evidence and a hearing, with 60 percent insisting that the government must provide justification before deporting an immigrant to an unfamiliar country. Additionally, voters largely believe that the government should comply with court orders during the deportation process.
“For I can’t count how long, Democrats were counseled to not talk about abortion,” said Anat Shenker-Osorio, a political messaging researcher and campaign consultant. “To offer SAT-style syllogism: Dobbs is to abortion as these abductions are to immigration.”
Some Democrats have already begun to engage with Abrego Garcia’s situation, including Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who visited El Salvador last week to meet with him. Several House members, including Ansari, with constituencies that have significant Latino populations, journeyed to El Salvador recently as well.
“Democrats are hyper-cautious about this, and they often want a lot of data before they finally start talking about it,” observed Colin Rogero, a Democratic consultant who created Spanish-language ads for Biden and Kamala Harris’s presidential campaigns. “But you’re seeing members right now who are getting out in front of this, who are being aggressive, and I think you’ll see other Democrats get on board as they see it’s working.”
The party is counting on the emphasis on due process and the complex legal battle to strike a chord with the broader American electorate. They believe this strategy will give them the upper hand in framing the discussion of Abrego Garcia’s case, particularly after Republicans have used immigration and border security as central themes in their messaging for the upcoming 2024 election.
“It’s a bigger conversation about rule of law and what kind of country we are,” stated Evan Roth Smith, a lead pollster for Democratic-aligned Blueprint. “And it takes the Republicans out of their more comfortable immigration territory, which is, are we a country with a border or not? Which is a case they successfully made to voters.
Mark B Thomas for TROIB News
