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SPEAKER 1
Hey, guys, it's Tim Miller from The Bulwark. We have breaking news just out from The Atlantic. For the first time, the government has admitted that they wrongly sent someone to the El Salvador prison hell. And yet they're going to do nothing to bring that person back. That's right.
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They've admitted that they sent somebody there that was here legally that had a temporary protected status because they had fled El Salvador in the past. This person isn't even from Venezuela. They had fled El Salvador as a child. And we're now here legally under our asylum laws. And they deported him anyway,
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even though he had a protected status in this country, a legal status in this country. And they're not going to do anything to try to get him back. And to add an insult to injury, he's married to an American citizen and they have a child who's five years old with severe disabilities.

Tim Miller takes on the latest disgrace from the Trump administration: the U.S. government knowingly deported a legal immigrant—a father and husband to US citizens—to a brutal prison in El Salvador. He had legal protection. He had no criminal record. ICE admitted it was an “administrative error.”

And yet they’re doing nothing to bring him back.

Please, do your part now: Contact your elected officials and demand accountability: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

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Discussion about this video

User's avatar
Strategic Jane's avatar

This isn't abt foreign affairs--

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Bruce Whitney's avatar

As I saw on an earlier Bulwark + Takes with Tim, that noted humanist Joe Rogan was shaken and disgusted by these deportations to El Salvador. I'm not at all a Rogan fan but from the clip I saw, he was genuinely disturbed and angry about the case of the gay makeup artist deported for no apparent legitimate reason. Time for people, including all those Rogan fans, to start making noise.

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Susan Goldberg's avatar

I can’t believe this is my country and leadership behind this cruelty. I don’t feel safe anymore.

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Bob Fuchs's avatar

Bob Fuchs

See the movie "Twelve Years A Slave"!!!!!!!

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Jeff Biss's avatar

Remember the response to Black Lives Matter by Republicans? Well, this is simply more of that. The GOP and their supporters are human garbage. Their only interest is to create a police state because they are authoritarian by nature and wholly unconcerned by any consideration about justice. The GOP and their voters are the enemy. It is that simple.

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Pat P.'s avatar

Tim, this is our local story, from our crime-free sleepy area of NJ. This man is known and beloved by everyone and our hearts are breaking:

https://www.nj.com/hunterdon/2025/04/nj-man-seeking-citizenship-for-years-went-to-office-for-paperwork-gets-detained-by-ice.html

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Ruth Joachim's avatar

Keep up the reporting, Tim. Love and support you.

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Beth's avatar

Thank you for expressing our righteous indignation, disgust and honestly shame that we as a country have allowed this to happen in our name and with our tax money. I called my Senators and House Rep about this earlier today.

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gerri caldarola's avatar

THanks, Tim!!!

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Mittensthemurderkitty's avatar

Is any of this classified as a crime against humanity and covered under the Geneva Convention? If the $trump administration is using the Alien Enemies Act which applies only in a time of "war" it should be covered under international law. I fail to see how any of this is legal. This is so sick and disgusting.

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Carol Tompkins's avatar

#45, his cabinet members, and his ICE stormtroopers just plain don't care. The people doing this are sub-human.

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E.K. Hornbeck's avatar

I hadn't caught this before, but as Tim pointed out, how can Garcia be a member of a Venezuelan gang when he's from El Salvador?

Now he's in El Salvador he's at the mercy of the Salvadoran gangs that he fled from originally. This is so depraved.

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Jenn Ris's avatar

UFB, this is disgraceful!!! I’m so ashamed 😭

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Leros's avatar

We are now witnessing in real time what 49.8% of the voters in 2024 ignored in favor of the price of eggs: i.e., when you voted for a guy who made it abundantly clear in his first reign that he did not respect the rule of law, what you were actually voting for (despite your delusions that you were voting for lower inflation) was letting people run the country who think acting illegally for their own political and financial gain is fine, irrespective of the level of cruelty and illegality involved. It's the reason I have zero interest in understanding Trump voters, and zero compassion for them.

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Victoria Lopes's avatar

Here is a link to the court filing. I'm confused - as it rules that while the Defendants (KRISTI NOEM, Secretary of Homeland Security, et al.,) recognize the financial and emotional hardships to Abrego Garcia’s family, the public interest in not returning a member of a violent criminal gang to the United States outweighs those individual interests. They admitted there was an administrative error in deporting Garcia, yet claim he is a member of a violent criminal gang member? https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.578815/gov.uscourts.mdd.578815.11.0.pdf

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Kris's avatar

Good point

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Janet Kilb's avatar

This is being done n most likely sadly will continue cause no one is attempting to cross the border n the Orange Guy promised to jail all. Since there isn’t enough n some ICE have been in trouble for not making quotas they will grab anyone they can get wo due process just to please their Evil Master.

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Brandon's avatar

I like how they start it out acknowledging they KNEW HE WASN'T TO BE DEPORTED by court order. Are they literally admitting they sent him despite KNOWING he wasn't supposed to be? Sounds a lot like the flights where they did it anyways, even with the third plane after the written order was issued.

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Deirdre LaMotte's avatar

I am going to call my Maryland Senators offices. Now.

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Lisa Kraidin's avatar

Thanks for sharing Tim. I contacted my NY senators and congressman about it.

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Carolann Najarian's avatar

One more horror story. Can it get any worse. I will write to my representatives but truthfully there must be more we can do. These are evil heartless people. I don’t believe that someone from ICE can’t go to El Salvador and get this poor soul out. The problem is he is t the only one and these SOBs know it.

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Kris's avatar

They can definitely get him out. They just don't want to back down in any way to the press, that's how they do things. Plus as you mention, it may bring into the spotlight the others wrongly being held there.

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Carolann Najarian's avatar

Exactly. Pressure has to be exerted.

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Carol Tompkins's avatar

I don't think he IS the only one. He is the only one they've admitted making a mistake on. Even if all of the others WERE gang members, they each deserved due process prior to being put on a plane and dumped in this horrid place.

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Katinka's avatar

He hasn’t broken any law? His protected status removed he could have been sent on a commercial flight back to El Salvador to just live & appeal the revocation, as horrible as that scenario is it would be lawful.

My personal belief is they are mad that 100s of thousands haven’t been rounded up, logistically very difficult, so they are going about inflicting abject cruelty on a level that makes me physically ill & absolutely delights MAGA people.

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Ellen Thomas's avatar

I don't know how these things get arranged, but I would like Tim to go on Joe Rogan's show (or the other way around) and talk to him about this issue with the passion he has here. I think it could make a real difference.

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Zach Seaman's avatar

Admitting this was an administrative error and doing nothing to reverse it is a step towards doing the same for U.S. citizens in the future. This administration hates everything about the U.S. Constitution and continues to tear it down everyday.

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Robin Held's avatar

Paused the video to call my senator! Thanks Tim, I appreciate all that you and everyone at the bulwark are doing to bring awareness to the shit show we are living in!

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Kelly Johnson's avatar

Thank you Tim

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Craig Butcher's avatar

The whole point of this is to jam it down the throats of the courts and the nation that this “mistake” was intentional.

The goal is to establish acceptance of an America where the regime can arrest and disappear anybody for any reason -- or for no reason at all; and if offered, the more preposterous the better, simply to demonstrate that reason, law, and justice don't matter. The purpose is to show by arbitrary act that action will be arbitrary. What counts is merely will and power.

Most importantly: when the regime acts, it must do so with implacable ruthlessness. The point of acknowledging the “mistake” is to create an opportunity for cruelly refusing to reverse it. The grotesquery of the injustice is the message.

The target audience is all of us, but particularly any potentially weak sisters on the Republican side. Acquiescence is a mandatory ritual rite of moral self-defilement, another compromise with the indefensible to defenestrate the soul. And little by little, even those who commenced their careers with aspiration to sincere public service excuse one disgrace after another; until one day they find themselves they partners with, and gradually even becoming, death camp guards. Which transformation is of course what the regime intends. Because finishing the work of national subjugation requires a sufficiency of death camp guards.

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Craig Butcher's avatar

The whole point of this is to jam it down the throats of the courts snd the nation that (a) this “mistake” was intentional.

The point is they are establishing the acceptance that they can arrest and disappear anybody for any reason or no reason- and the more preposterous the reason the better, simply to demonstrate that reason has nothing to do with how they will act. What they do will be entirely argument and law will not dissuade them.

And (b) — and this is the most important- when they act, they will act with implacable ruthlessness. The point of acknowledging the “mistake” is to refuse to reverse it. The grotesque injustice of it is its very point.

And this is also part of ensuring that any potentially weak sisters on the Republican side perform yet another act of moral self-defilement. Every additional small deed of silent compliance with the indefensible is another step toward total abnegation. Little by little, even those who commenced their careers with dreams of service find one day that they are partners with, and even themselves have changed into, death camp guards.

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Katie's avatar

Thank you. Will share and call my senators today. Thank you for your passion Tim.

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Larry McCready's avatar

Aren’t we paying six(6) million per year to El Salvador to house these men, and they are saying we can’t get him back? God help us all!

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Tonee Gregg's avatar

Do you think he cannot be returned because he is no longer alive?

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Janneke's avatar

Just coming here to say this. To “outdark” even JVL, I don’t think this regime cares what happens to these men. They could easily be hitting the “Final Solution” a lot sooner than we think.

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Gretchen Ekeland's avatar

Appreciate your passion. Just called my 2 senators and actually got a live staffer at one, first time. Thank you for the talking points to help me make my statement coherent. It is outrageously abhorrent, evil and immoral and the regime continues to not care about we the people.

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Adam's avatar

Thanks for the reminder. I have called my senators and congresswoman.

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ERIC STENCLIK's avatar

So glad to see Tim fame this in the terms it merits: Moral terms. The ethos of the current government is in violation of the most universal moral obligations we know: basic decency, fairness, mercy, and humane treatment of other human beings. We are not in the middle of a political crisis; we are in a moral crisis like one we haven't seen since in decades, and one that's happening on our own streets. This is a moral reckoning for this country, and I don't know whether humanity and decency will prevail. It's up to us.

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Kris's avatar

I agree with all Tim is saying here, but backtracking a bit: I don't understand why we are outsourcing to El Salvador anyway. Why aren't we just deporting them to their country of origin? Is it that Venezuela won't accept the Tren de Aragua members back? And this guy is El Salvadoran, so if it is determined that they want to strip his legal status, shouldn't they just deport him to El Salvador and the El Salvadoran govt would determine if he even committed a crime in El Salvador and whether he should be charged, tried and sent to prison if convicted?

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Adam's avatar

We are outsourcing to El Salvador because we know the government there will commit human rights violations against prisoners. Some Americans may not be able to stomach if we, "the good guys", are abusing prisoners ourselves. So the Trump administration plays Pontius Pilate, washes their hands, and turn these immigrants over to a highly dangerous situation, and then says its out of their control.

I think part of it is because some in the Trump admin hate immigrants and want them to suffer. I think for more of them, its an amoral attitude of thinking the suffering of the few is justified to encourage the remainder to leave. It is sick either way.

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Kris's avatar

So it is a performance to create an atmosphere of fear overall, but in particular to influence people not to try to come here, and for those here to "self-deport." Which jives with the video Noem made. Yuck.

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Herman Jacobs's avatar

This injustice brings to mind Ted Cruz and his immigrant father, whom Trump infamously accused of involvement in the JFK assassination. In 1957 Rafael Cruz fled to the US as a refugee from oppression in Castro’s Cuba.

Just think how different things would be today if in 1957 Eisenhower had picked up Ted Cruz's daddy when he first arrived in this country and shipped him back to Cuba to die in Castro’s prison:

JFK would not have been assassinated, Ted Cruz would never have been born, and Heidi Cruz would still be a virgin. (Well, maybe she is still a virgin, but you get the idea.)

Ted Cruz has no soul.

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Vicki Trinder's avatar

Is there a livestream for the Booker filibuster?

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Jan Allyn's avatar

Called my 3 Trump-loving Congressional representatives in Florida for all the good it will do: Ashley Moody, pRick Scott, and An Appalling Lunatic.

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Sabra's avatar

This is what happens to people trying to NOT be a gang member. Apparently it is not about being in a gang, but being brown.

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Ellen Thomas's avatar

I had already called both of my D Senators and my D Rep twice (both local and DC offices) about Andry this morning. Now it's back to the phones.

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Rick G's avatar

Some Americans are actually cheering for this evil.

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Joanne Scott's avatar

Please Tim, advertise the Saturday marches on DC and our state capitals! We all need to get on the streets about this story and all the sick outcomes of this evil administration!

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Greg WF's avatar

So, how do we know people being “accidentally” deported aren’t U.S. citizens? How long before U.S. citizen regime enemies are? How do we know that halfway to the Escape from New York hellhole prison in El Salvador, they don’t “accidentally” fall out of the fucking plane into the Gulf of MEXICO? “They have a manifest,” you say? I’m sure they can mess with those.

I’m not down with conspiracies. People are too dumb and lazy to perpetrate complex conspiracies. But I don’t trust these creeps any farther than I can throw an anvil.

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Annemarie's avatar

Thanks to you and Tim for reporting. Tim's comments brought me to tears, and I dutifully followed up with phone calls demanding the return of this wronged man.

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Susan Miller's avatar

He as well as the gay man they sent are probably dead

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Emma's avatar
Apr 1Edited

Trump only cares about appearances. I'm sure he instructed his gestapo to scour the land for men who fit the casting call for his production of 'Tren De Aragua'. Got tats, brown skin, last name not traceable to the Mayflower and look like you'd scare the shit outta any member of Moms for Liberty? Well that's enough due process for you. You're going to a dystopian gulag plucked from the script of Blade Runner.

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Peg Dawson Harrington's avatar

Well it doesn’t help that my congress ppl are Blackburn, Hagerty, and Ogles. But I’ve let them know this ain’t right.

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Ellen Thomas's avatar

They need to hear it. They need to know that not every Tennessean is a monster (I say this as a former Tennessean).

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Annemarie's avatar

I am crying right now. I will make calls after I stop.

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Steve Vogel's avatar

Temperatures are rising, this summer will be ugly, you can feel the violence approaching. And don't you know--he's dying to declare Marshal Law "to restore order" and capsulate a power that will be Orwellian in how they frame it. I'd love to read JVL's dissection of what constitutional authority Trump could claim under Marshal Law, in advance. Ring the bell. This summer is gonna break bad. (You all are the best, thanks for your daily vigilance.)

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Kris's avatar

Sorry to be this person, but: it's martial law. Root: mars, god of war. (martial arts, court-martial) I wouldn't do this except this is the Bulwark, where people actually care about things like this. :)

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Steve Vogel's avatar

Ha, thank you.

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Greg WF's avatar

Invoking Marshal Law would be unwise for him to do. Very unwise. He would be crossing the Rubicon, but he ain’t Caesar.

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Emma's avatar

Calling my Senators Schumer and Gillibrand ... again. I'm sure they'll get right on it. But what else can we do?

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Joanne Scott's avatar

MARCH this Saturday!

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Emma's avatar

In NYC? I need to check out the schedule for this stuff. Oh and I just left a furious vm for Senator Gillibrand. I'm sure she'll get right back to me.

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Leros's avatar

Thanks for reminding me who my other Senator is. Gillibrand is so far off the radar screen half the state doesn't know who she is. But still appreciate your effort.

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Emma's avatar

That's why I called her office first. In the hopes she'd leap to answer bc who else is trying to reach her?

Yeah, she was instrumental in pushing out Al Franken. Which basically tells you all you need to know.

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Para-Prose's avatar

😡

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Christopher B Drake's avatar

Cruelty and inducement of fear is the point! This administration is disgusting!

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Emma's avatar

I have no fucking words, but Solzhenitsyn did: Unlimited power in the hands of limited people always leads to cruelty.

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Christopher B Drake's avatar

Demand due process!!!

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Nita's avatar

Apparently there is no tipping point for this administration. Thank you, Tim for highlighting this article by The Atlantic. Your humanity is most valued in your reporting of these tragic stories of injustice.

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Herman Jacobs's avatar

This boils my blood and makes this old man want to cry tears of rage.

By breaking faith with Abrego, the United States has broken faith with itself.

Please attend one of the April 5th “Hands Off” protests near you. I’m not a “protest” person; I distrust large groups and especially large crowds; I hate anything that looks like group think; chanting slogans strikes me as silly and simple minded.

But the present situation makes a necessary exception for me. At 68 years old, I’ll be joining my first protest.

I’ll be in the streets April 5, doing my little bit, in the hopes that all the little bits will add up to something.

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Nancy Vanden Houten's avatar

Hi Tim. Thanks for keeping this in the spotlight. I'm as outraged as you are. I've put my Arizona representative and senators into my contacts in my phone so it's easier to keep after them.

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Laura Carravallah's avatar

Called. Will keep calling. Thank you for spreading the info.

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John Siebert's avatar

if anyone in the administration had any evidence that even one of these men had committed the crimes they're attributing to all of them, they would be trumpeting that instance non-stop, as a scare tactic and to try to substantiate the generalization. The lack of even a single incident for them to actually point to is evidence that they have none.

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Kate's avatar

This is beyond disgusting, yet they claim it’s a mistake? NO!! Nothing this evil is a mistake! Regardless of how difficult this is for trump, he needs to fix this and get this man home to his family!

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Dina Rodner's avatar

What is the rationale for administration paying for a prison in El Salvador with our tax money. I know he didn’t use his personal money for it. The taxpayers also paid for the dog killer to pose in front of the jail and men in it. It is cruelty, the Republicans that are allowing this to happen need to all be ousted. I thought they had learned lesson in the G W Bush administration. From the reports of these men were not gang members. ice just wanted to fill there quota immigrants. To please the white house. We need to bring them home immediately. THEY ARE POLITICAL PRISONERS.

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Bruce Lawrence's avatar

They are not exactly political prisoners. They are not being punished for anything they believe, say, or do. They are just being used as props in support of one of Trump's narratives.

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Sally D.'s avatar

This makes my blood boil! Absolutely appalling! This story should be broadcast far and wide.

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jane's avatar

Despicable, disgraceful, diabolic.so, that makes 4 human beings that we know of. How many more innocent people were taken?

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JWH's avatar

This made me want to cry.

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JP Battaglia's avatar

MAGA hates America and what it stands for. Fucking cowards and traitors to the very nation they proclaim to love. Fox News won't cover this story. Won't find it on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or tik Tok. It won't change any minds, despite being Nazi Germany-adjacent... But that's kind of the point...

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Denise Wakeman's avatar

This is sickening.

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Deirdre Dawson's avatar

Sadly in transactional politics Democrats are still reeling from the loss (myself included) and too freakin weak to do anything for anyone (and I could be charitable and say they are playing the Carville strategy, but they are hiding...except they still manage to get an unrelenting number of solicitations out) and/or still feeling too betrayed to help certain groups who they feel turned (yes, they ultimately DO come for us all) on them. We need more Rogan (never thought I would type that!) and we need those groups who did make a difference on the margin in the last election to step up and lead. Atlantic-New York Times-Bulwark (!) subscribers from blue states are not going to make the difference on this one...but we still can keep on making noise and support those who are working to protect the civil rights of these people...and the rest of us.

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Lynn Krems's avatar

I'm wondering if anyone was even a gang member. I have a byracial son. I fear for him just for the color of his skin .

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Concerned Citizen's avatar

Tim—It’s El Salvador, not Sans Salvador. You’ve been saying this wrong consistently.

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senatorpjt's avatar

San Salvador is the capital of El Salvador. However the prison is not located in San Salvador...

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Ellen Hinchee's avatar

Media outlets need to be clamoring noisily to see the contract with El Salvador for the prison services. I’m highly skeptical it can be interpreted to mean that the U.S. has given up all control or custody. And as for those who were in the U.S. legally (whether it’s a legal pathway that 47 likes or not), is it even legally possible to relinquish control? I don’t know these answers, but these are the questions someone needs to be asking. It also seems the U.S. has a moral obligation to get these guys back if they were shipped off because of an “administrative error.”

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Jill S's avatar

Tim, keep up the righteous indignation. It inspires the rest of us.

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Karen W.'s avatar

If this isn't Nazi Germany, then what is?

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Bruce Lawrence's avatar

We are well on the way, but we still have a LONG way to go to become as bad as Nazi Germany. Other countries - Russia, Belarus, China, Venezuela - are already there.

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jane diaz's avatar

DONE. left an earful for DAN GOLDMAN, CHUCK SCHUMER and KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND.

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willsx2's avatar

This keeps me up at night. I have called all my reps. Is there anything else we can do. I have read some of the people sent away have lawyers working on their cases but what larger organizations are working on this. I would like to volunteer to help in any way I can.

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Linda P.'s avatar

This is my question too. Where can I send money? I want it to go directly to this issue/these people.

Thanks for asking this. I was trying to put the words together to say and ask exactly this.

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Pgalden1@yahoo.com's avatar

Vote BLUE SPECIAL ELECTIONS, Take Back the House and IMPEACH Trump

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Harley "Griff" Lofton's avatar

My favorite part of their filing: "He had the opportunity to give evidence tending to show he was not part of MS-13, which he did not proffer. . . ."

I thought the law was that the government has to prove guilt with evidence not that we have to prove our evidence.

How does one prove one is not in a gang? Or a terrorist. Or a thief, etc.

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Whats Going On Brandi Dawn's avatar

Well of course. Since they will not release information or justification for judgement of most of these people, they are likely ALL innocent. Legally they ARE, until proven otherwise. I suspect they are people who were tagged because they fled government persecution. That means they are likely to resist dictatorship. Why would they use this idiot law to deport people, if they had any justification to do so in a normal way?

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Andrew Smoley's avatar

This is the message I sent to each of my Federal representatives, Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, Representative Ilhan Omar:

This administration has been shipping people off to El Salvador without due process. I work for MSU, Mankato and one of our international students was pulled out of their off-campus residence and arrested by ICE. Yet, I hear almost nothing from our elected Democrats. I read this morning about the Maryland husband and father here under TPS, who was "accidentally" shipped off to El Salvador, the country he fled in his youth.

This is a humanitarian outrage and yet I hear next to nothing from Democrats. This is elected official malpractice on your part. You all should be out there shouting this from the rooftops. In Republican districts.

I'm a never-Trump former Republican and I'm telling you Democrats, your response to Trump is pathetic. It's time to learn how to fight. Grow a spine or get out of the way for someone who will fight.

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Lynda Paulson's avatar

I contacted my Senators Padilla and Schiff and my congressman who has talked about it; Robert Garcia. They will all be hearing a lot more from me. Should we contact our Governors? Can they do anything?

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Hey Mama Warrior's avatar

Tim, I wonder if any of the journalists at the Bulwark, or other publications, would be able to profile ICE agents? I just CANNOT imagine being able to pull a father from a car with special needs child that was not breaking any law. If these workers believe in what they are doing, let them be known. It’s just so inhumane. 😢

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Shannon T.'s avatar

Thank you, Tim, for continuing to report on this outrageous situation and horrible behavior of the Trump administration. There needs to be more outrage and coverage of these atrocities by all media sources.

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Adam J Schmidt's avatar

Guess I'll need to email my Senators again -- maybe add on Maryland's Attorney General to see if they can sue on his families behalf? This is obscene.

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Kentuckistan's avatar

One of the genius elements of the US Constitution is they define every single human being as a "person"....every man woman and child in the America is a person with human and civil rights. Some of us are Citizens with additional rights but the bottom line is we are committing crimes against the Constitution right now

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Emmy Elle's avatar

Question for Trump supporters-which one described your view on tariffs?

a. Tariffs are good

b. Tariffs are not so great, but the ability to send lawfully present visa and green card holders to slave prisons is an important trade-off

c. He’s just saying that, he won’t do tariffs

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Kentuckistan's avatar

Extremism in the defense of Christian Whiteness is no vice. He who saves his nation has broken no laws.....right?

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Kate's avatar

NO!

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Emmy Elle's avatar

Well, in fairness, they stopped being The Family Values Party in 2016.

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Emmy Elle's avatar

Holy f*ck.

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Bret Barrett's avatar

The US just SOLD A HUMAN INTO SLAVERY!!! If they truly cannot get him back then they are not renting space to house prisoners they are selling people to a nightmare work house prison!

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Alison Ragde's avatar

Thank you Tim for keeping this in the forefront. It is f**ing outrageous. I find it hard to believe there is no way to right this wrong. Perhaps Elon could spare a few mil to pay off El Salvador. If they’ll take our money to imprison people I’m sure they’ll take more money to release them.

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Carole Nicholson's avatar

Watching the morning news- I just saw another plane land in EL Salvador carrying so called gang members.

What happened to the orders from the judge to halt these "deportations"?

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Kentuckistan's avatar

I would say....they are Salvadoran and have been "legally" deported, convicted of crime or exhausted asylum requests. The issue in Court is whether the 1798 Aliens Enemies Act can be invoked by the President alone to allow summary executive removal immediate un reviewable by Immigration Judges. There's major problems with that

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Greg Florence's avatar

Thank you for this, Tim. They brought the Tate brothers back, certainly they can bring Mr. Garcia back and reunite him with his family.

Your impassioned posts on this topic are spot on.

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KLB's avatar

I don’t believe they can’t bring them back. We have negotiated prisoner returns from Russia. It can be negotiated!

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Hey Mama Warrior's avatar

As a mom of a nonverbal, special needs child, I am crying. How can people do this? It is hard to look at people who voted for this, and are okay with this. If ANYONE who has ability and authority to help hears about this and doesn’t act, their humanity is gone. May God protect him and cover his whole family in courage, strength and endurance. If the Bulwark sets up a fund for his family, please post the link. I can’t imagine what the Mama is going through. 💔. Thanks for being a powerful voice for the voiceless Tim.

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John P's avatar

The banality of evil. People closed their hearts to suffering and cruelty because of a hardened cultural belief. If even Joe Rogan can recognize what’s going on, anyone else should be able to too.

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Jon's avatar

So I've had the morning news on for 15 minutes now and no mention of this. NOTHING. The truly sad part is so many just don't care. C'mon America, what if this was your family member, your friend?

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Carole Nicholson's avatar

Morning Joe had a segment about it and my local NBC affiliate in Washington DC had a story about it.

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Anthony H. Russell's avatar

We can take back the Panama Canal. We can take Greenland. Per our Supreme Leader, military force is not an excluded option for either of these territorial acquisitions. Heck, if provoked, we could probably invade and annex Canada, provided that our Secretary of Defense and our National Security Advisor haven’t revealed the attack plans in advance in an unsecured chatroom . But we haven’t the capacity to rescue one illegally deported legal US resident from a Salvadoran prison? Shouldn’t take more than one phone call from the Oval to the toadying Salvadoran president. But, alas, that would require public acknowledgment of at least one mistake and possibly an apology, two things beyond the formidable powers of this administration.

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Chiara's avatar

Tim, tx u 4 prioritizing these reports on the abuses and wrongs of the Trump deportation plan. I hope these human stories get told far and wide. This is an injustice that simply can't get lost in the Trump media frenzy.

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amalie's avatar

What can we do?? We need to do Something!

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Lisa J. Miller's avatar

I wrote a Substack about it and posted it on my Facebook. Called my Maga Senators too. For what good it did.

https://open.substack.com/pub/lisajmiller2/p/the-maga-black-hole-san-salvador?r=2o7uvb&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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Laura's avatar

As Tim wrote in his post, Please, do your part now: Contact your elected officials and demand accountability: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

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Megan Garcia's avatar

Thank you so much for continuing to keep attention on this story, Tim! I’ve been calling my reps almost daily on this issue, and have been so frustrated that I'm barely seeing any traction in Congress with this horrific story that just keeps growing more nightmarish by the day. I’ll keep calling and please keep talking about it!

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Barbara Lathroum's avatar

We have the Marines as in “Send in the”. We have a State Dept. Trump sold this man to the jailers and can ask for a refund.

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Paula Johnston's avatar

Hell, we can send Kristi "Puppy Killer" Noem down there with a whole crew to cosplay an immigration official and create a propaganda video. Certainly, we can send a plane down there to retrieve the folks who've been wrong deported. This clown show of an administration has blood on it's hands.

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jpickle777's avatar

I will write to my Senators - Schumer and Gillibrand.

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Michael Gordon's avatar

Tim, while I admire your anti-Trump and anti-MAGA positions, and your willingness to speak loudly in opposition to them, I have to wonder:

Why did it take someone like Trump for you to switch allegiance? You used to be a Republican supporter.

For the last 50 years or so, Republicans were the party of:

Anti LGBTQ

Lower taxes for the rich and fewer “entitlements” for the poor.

Pro-gun (anti-gun control)

Anti-civil rights

Christian Nationalism (a la Reagan)

Military hawks

Climate change deniers

Anti environmental regulation

It is a myth that the R party just turned right-wing since Trump came on the scene.

Honestly, with no malice intent, what was your excuse before you seemingly turned progressive?

My guess is that like most young, naive “kids” who have a chance to enter politics, you were intoxicated by the power and the “connections.” At least I hope that was it and you didn’t actually buy into Republican “conservative” values, which really haven’t changed since the 60’s. They’ve just gotten worse.

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Brad W's avatar

Tim wrote an excellent book titled Why We Did It that answers your question.

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Julie's avatar

Maybe people could be Republicans because they were the party of law and order and family values. They had John McCain. I'll never forget watching him walk off the plane after being freed from being a prisoner of war in Vietnam. He was one of my heroes and I miss him. Republicans were more moderate then. On the other hand, when I was growing up, the Democrats were the pot-smoking hippies who protested a lot and rebelled against "the establishment". They also believed in a level playing field, watched out for other people, and fought for equality for everyone. And I can't forget Barack Obama. I cried when he was elected president because I was so proud. The parties today are not what they once were, that's for sure. It's hard to be in either one.

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Lisa J. Miller's avatar

Omfg!!! I am sickened beyond belief. Wtf?!! Something woke me up too and I believe it was this. I will call my Maga Indiana Senators for what good it will do. I will call and will raise Holy Hell. I won't be celebrating Easter this year. Thank you dear Tim. We are with you. Much love. 💔💔💔

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Lynn T's avatar

Thank you for reporting this. I will share widely and make calls.

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Lisa Goich's Big e-Vent's avatar

This is so fucking bad. I'm disgusted to be a part of this country. If the administration refuses to bring him back KNOWING they made a "clerical" error, what good is calling our senators going to do? The senators interested in doing good are outnumbered, and those in lockstep with der führer aren't going to do a damned thing. We are watching the dark side of history in real time, people. This is it. In 50 years from now your great grandkids are going to be reading about this and wondering how something like this could have ever happened.

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Mainely Native's avatar

Oh Tim, I’m so sorry…Something woke me up and now I’m sure it was a screaming universe. The feelings I have are unfathomable and the fear is most palpable. thank you for staying up so late and bringing the story to us. We appreciate you too. Hugs from Maine at 350 am.

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Jody Sterba's avatar

Just called both of my NE Senators and Don Bacon. Will be at the Hands Off Rally on 4/5. Love you, Tim!

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Tamara Tombakian's avatar

This story is absolutely horrific! After yours, I saw another case ...https://youtu.be/UiW_9LDYXtg?si=uw96QhU_PmlbPk6S.

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Dr. Nan's avatar

Tim, thank you for not letting this atrocity go. It makes me heart sick and furious and I will make the calls!

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James Woodruff's avatar

Our tax money is paying for this extraordinary rendition. All these people are being tortured, and our name is on the check.

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Aukje's avatar

This is infuriating. They admit they made a mistake but they don't even try to get him back? They just leave him there under horrible unimaginable circumstances until when? Till he dies there? And how is it possible that you're one of the few people who's rightfully outraged about this. That's really shocking to me too. This should upset every elected official. What more do they need to speak out about it?

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SC's avatar

I've called before, I will call again. This is evil. And can't be tolerated. Don't stop talking about it.

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tecolote42's avatar

Sloppy BS at the very least

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Katie's avatar

Thank you for continuing to cover this! I'm furious with my Democrat representatives for staying silent. I contact them every day, and still nothing. I'm horrified.

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Stefan Tulich's avatar

Tim, thanks for your passionate voice on this malicious evil. As a fellow graduate of Jesuit high school, I believe you are truly following our teaching to be "men for others". Keep up the fight.

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Karen Williams's avatar

Can someone get the word to Cory Booker? Is he still on the floor?

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Karen Williams's avatar

Just read the full article. I wonder if they are fighting bringing him back because the jail is so horrific. The Dems - and any Repubs with any spine left - need to raise holy hell.

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Hudsons Mom's avatar

The powerlessness of righting the wrongs of this twisted ogre of a president, has become incomprehensible and infuriating.

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Richard Stuart McGowan's avatar

You got those phone calls from me.

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Karen Williams's avatar

Keep doing this great journalism, Tim. It's needed. Contacting elected tomorrow.

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Tara Murphy's avatar

Thank you for your reporting on this, Tim. I’m restacking. No one reads my posts but for what it’s worth…. And I will be calling my Reps in the morning. It’s revolting what the tRump Regime is doing. It must stop and this man must be returned to his family.

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DeAnn Kerr's avatar

Tim, thanks for sharing. Just shared the Atlantic article on Bluesky and tagged Durbin. It’s easier than making it through their phone tree. They need to go get him now.

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Diane Swafford's avatar

If there’s one they’re admitting to- I’m wondering how many others the are NOT divulging. This is horrifying beyond belief 😡😩😭

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Julie's avatar

It really is. It's my worst fear for myself and others who didn't do anything wrong.

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Julie's avatar

There has to be something they can do. I'm not buying it.

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Bruce Lawrence's avatar

This is their problem: If they admit there is something they can do in this one case, then the courts will know they could return all the prisoners if they wanted to.

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Julie's avatar

Bunch of shits! This bothers me so much. This and Ukraine. No sleeping tonight.

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Carol  W Jenkins's avatar

I sleep well, thank heavens, to restore stamina for the next day.

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0:40
even though he had a protected status in this country, a legal status in this country. And they're not going to do anything to try to get him back. And to add an insult to injury, he's married to an American citizen and they have a child who's five years old with severe disabilities.