Like many Americans, I am closely following the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s illegal deportation to a mega-prison in El Salvador, because of what it says about us and the country we live in. In this blog, I will explain why all patriotic Americans left, right and center should see this situation for what it is using ideas we all understand. Here are eight reasons why Mr. Abrego Garcia needs to come back to the US immediately.
1) Because deporting him was a mistake we have already admitted to
Officials from DOJ and ICE have both acknowledged in federal court that deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia was an error. This isn’t a question of opinion or politics, it’s an admitted government failure. Leaving him to rot in a foreign prison for a mistake the U.S. already confessed to is not justice, it’s inept and it’s cruel.
Conservatives believe in accountability and fixing what’s broken. When the government makes a mistake (especially one as serious as violating a court order), it's not patriotic to ignore it. In this country, we don’t just throw away human beings because of red tape or bureaucratic error. That’s the kind of government overreach conservatives are supposed to fight.
2) Because he’s not a gang member and not a terrorist
Abrego Garcia has a U.S. citizen wife, a U.S. citizen child, and a steady job. Yes, he entered the country illegally as a teenager, then encountered the law enforcement system in 2019, and the outcome of that was a court order finding that he was not a gang member and also mandating he not only be given legal protected status, but also that he explicitly NOT be deported to El Salvador. Other than crossing the border when he wasn’t even old enough to drive, he has never been charged with a crime or even accused of a crime.
The only claim tying Abrego Garcia to gang activity came from an anonymous informant - a claim that the informant couldn’t prove and cops didn’t believe. The Trump administration, including department heads like Marco Rubio and Pam Bondi, is lying to you about this. If you were outraged about Biden’s handlers lying to us about how sharp-minded and healthy he was all the time, then you should be outraged about this, too.
Conservatives preach family values. Mr. Garcia is a husband, a father, a provider. Supporting the family unit used to be non-negotiable on the right. And if we’re talking about law and order—what law has he been convicted of breaking? Not one. When we start accepting guilt by anonymous accusation, we aren’t being “tough on crime”— we’re abandoning due process and every principle of justice our founders fought for.
3) Because if this can happen to him, it can happen to anyone
The logic used to disappear Abrego Garcia and deport other students, scholars and travelers that the Trump White House doesn’t like - with no charges, no hearing, no due process - could just as easily be used on a U.S. citizen.
Ask yourself this: if the government can ignore the courts today to deport a man they were ordered to protect, what’s gonna stop them from ignoring the courts tomorrow to seize your house, close your business, or silence your speech?
Small-government conservatives used to warn us: give the government too much power, and it will eventually use it against you. The moment has arrived, folks! The rubber is meeting the road. What will you do?
4) Because the Supreme Court said so
This isn’t a policy debate; it’s a legal mandate, just like every other that came from the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court mandated that individuals have the right to own guns. The Supreme Court mandated that we don’t need the Voting Rights Act anymore. The Supreme Court mandated that public workers can’t be forced to pay union dues. The Supreme Court mandated that there is no federal right to abortion. The Supreme Court mandated that a football coach can pray at school games. The Supreme Court mandated that colleges can’t use race in admissions.
And now, the Supreme Court mandated that the Trump administration "facilitate" returning this man to his family. To ignore that order is to shred the Constitution.
Conservatives love to quote the Constitution, so let’s quote it. Article III, Section 1: "The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court." That means what the Supreme Court says goes. If we respect their rulings on guns, religion, and elections, we don’t get to cherry-pick. Either the Court is the law of the land, or it isn’t. If the President can decide when the law applies and when it doesn’t, the country is cooked. We live under a king. And maybe the next king is a Democrat!
5) Because "foreign policy" should not be a loophole for human rights violations
You hear Trump allies calling this a matter of “foreign affairs” or “foreign policy.” It isn’t, really. The judicial system telling the executive that they broke the law and are required to un-break it is not interfering in “foreign policy.”
It’s a smokescreen. They’re using this argument as a way to reject a lawful court order and violate the basic rights of a man who should be home with his family. And I don’t care what President Bukele thinks about it - America doesn’t outsource its conscience. We don’t let foreign leaders decide which of our laws matter. Conservatives have spent decades warning about globalism eroding American sovereignty. How sovereign are we when the White House won’t lift a finger to bring this man home, just because Bukele wants to feel a few inches taller?
6) Because pretending to comply is not complying
Offering to “provide a plane” while refusing to actually request his release is like promising to rescue a drowning man if someone else drags him to shore first. Or maybe it’s like if your Mom says you can only get Grand Theft Auto 6 if it’s okay with your Dad, and your Dad says you can only get Grand Theft Auto 6 if it’s okay with your Mom. It’s gaslighting at the highest level and President Trump and President Bukele both know it.
Conservatives don’t take kindly to politicians playing word games to avoid responsibility. If a Democrat tried to pull this “technically we offered a plane, there’s nothing we can do” stunt, conservatives would be calling for impeachment. Rightly so.
7) Because the stakes are too high to look away
This isn’t just about one man. It’s about whether the U.S. government believes it has the power to vanish people without oversight. It’s about whether the courts still have any authority when the executive branch decides to ignore them. It’s about whether the Constitution protects us or just serves as a suggestion.
If you’re a conservative and you’re not outraged by this, ask yourself: What will it take? What happens when this kind of unchecked power gets turned on your community? Your church? Your kids? Won’t you wish you had nipped this in the bud?
8) Because compassion is a choice - and so is cruelty
Kilmar Abrego Garcia should be in Maryland cutting sheet metal and taking care of his three special-needs kids right now, not locked in a concrete and razor wire hell with no way out because President Trump wanted to look tough on immigration.
We are the most powerful country in the world. We are supposed to be the most just, most upstanding and moral country, a country built on Judeo-Christian values. We do what's right, even when it's hard, even when it humbles us. That’s not a weakness. That’s strength. That’s what being American means.
We can choose to bring this man home. And we must.
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