Abrego Garcia must be returned.
Dear [Senator, Rep __],
I'm writing out of urgent concern for the fate of Abrego Garcia, as well as all the immigrants and international students kidnapped by ICE and trafficked away without due process, to a cell in another state or even a torture/death camp in El Salvador. Even as I type, yet another student, Mohsen Mahdawi, here legally and in good faith, was ambushed at his citizenship interview and spirited away; no one knows where he is. This was for exercising 1st Amendment rights on U.S. soil, not “terrorism.”
Abrego Garcia, of course, did nothing except attract the attention of the now dictatorial regime we are living under, mistakenly. The Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to return him. As of this typing, Trump refuses; we are now in a Constitutional crisis.
Worse, until the rule of law takes precedence over the whims of this cruel and tyrannical government, any one of us is in danger of the same fate, citizen or no, “wrongdoing” or no.
This has gone more than far enough.
Senator Chris Van Hollen has notified the Salvadorean ambassador that if Abrego Garcia is not returned by mid week, he will go down to El Salvador himself—an extraordinary commitment for extraordinary times.
This, I'm afraid, is what we're going to need from all of you, our elected representatives. To use your power to the limit to say “no” to this, finally. To halt the business of Congress as usual by any means necessary until this matter is resolved.
I realize there are multiple fires here, and I very much appreciate all that you do.
But nothing-not the budget, not the tariffs, not even Social Security-is as vital as this. Nothing. We are at the crisis point.
Thank you for all you do. We appreciate you, and are counting on you.