Elected Officials, Lawyers, and Community Leaders Call for Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s Freedom Following Re-Arrest & Threatened Deportation to Uganda

A full recording of the press call can be found here

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The national immigrant powerhouse CASA, legal representatives, and elected officials held a press call following the Trump administration’s wrongful re-arrest and detention of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. After refusing coercive pressure to plead guilty to federal charges, Mr. Abrego Garcia now faces the threat of being disappeared once again by the U.S. government to a country where the US government has not assured his protection, freedom, or subsequent removal to El Salvador.

Just one week after reuniting with his family following 160 days of separation caused by his wrongful deportation to CECOT in El Salvador, Mr. Abrego Garcia was once again detained this morning at a mandated immigration check-in in Baltimore. Outside the building, hundreds of faith, labor, elected, and community leaders rallied in support of his freedom. His re-arrest came after the Trump administration failed to coerce Mr. Abrego Garcia into extending his detention, threatening him with deportation to Uganda unless he pleaded guilty to federal charges.

For the past half year, the Trump administration has repeatedly denied Mr. Abrego Garcia basic access to due process, forced him through terrible circumstances, including a disappearance to El Salvador, misled the public—and the courts—on repeated occasions, and now has brought the full force of the U.S. government to bear once again to display incredible cruelty.

Before being taken away, Kilmar said in Spanish, “Regardless of what happens today with ICE, promise me this: that you will keep fighting, praying, believing in dignity and liberty, not just for me but for all.”
Congressman Glenn Ivey (D-MD-04) said, “It’s outrageous that the Trump administration is transforming the Department of Justice into a department of retribution, and this is yet another example of them abusing the power of the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. I was expecting them to do what they did today, but I was hoping they might somehow let the process go forward as it should. They shouldn’t have charged him with these criminal offenses to start with. They just did it to save face. They deported him illegally. They knew that, they just didn’t want to admit it.”

Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, Partner, Murray Osorio PLLC said, “As we feared – but at the same time, pretty much expected – Mr. Abrego Garcia was taken into custody by ICE this morning. […] The real motive in this matter is not getting him out of the country; it’s punishing him and keeping him locked up.”

Lydia Walther-Rodriguez, Chief of Organizing and Leadership, CASA, said, “Today, we didn’t just witness injustice. We witnessed pure inhumanity and cruelty at the hands of our government. Kilmar and his family could be any one of us. They are everyday people who this government is punishing for simply demanding Kilmar’s due process. CASA and the rest of the country has supported Kilmar these past 163 days, and we will continue fighting until his liberation.”

Andrea Flores, Vice President of Immigration Policy & Campaigns, said, “As a former DHS official, sending a citizen of a non-African country to Uganda without disclosing and providing the assurances that Simon has pointed out is truly unheard of. Absolutely nothing in the law requires such an action. There is no legal, public safety or national security reason for this retaliatory deportation to be taking place.”

A full recording of the press call can be found here.

With over 173,000 lifetime members across 46 US states, CASA is a national powerhouse organization building power and improving the quality of life in working-class: Black, Latino/a/e, Afro-descendent, Indigenous, and Immigrant communities. CASA creates change with its powerbuilding model blending human services, community organizing, and advocacy in order to serve the full spectrum of the needs, dreams, and aspirations of members. www.wearecasa.org

Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg is a partner and head of litigation in Murray Osorio’s Fairfax office. He has significant experience litigating against the federal government on behalf of immigrants, in individual and class actions, including district court, Courts of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. Simon has led cases of nationwide impact challenging immigration detention of adults and children. He has also led challenges to anti-immigrant policies such as the Muslim Ban, family separation under the Trump Administration, the attempt to cancel the DACA program, and others.