A top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official is set to testify Thursday about the steps the Trump administration has taken to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the West African country of Liberia, as the Trump administration continues its push to remove him from the U.S. ahead of his criminal trial on human smuggling charges next year.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration urged U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis to lift an August order that prevents Abrego Garcia from being deported to a third-party country without due process, arguing that the government has gone through all the necessary steps to remove Abrego Garcia.
Abrego Garcia’s case has been a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown since the Salvadoran immigrant was removed from where he lived in Maryland to his native country in March. He was sent to El Salvador even though in 2019, an immigration judge granted him a legal status known as withholding of removal because of concerns Abrego Garcia could be persecuted by gangs there.
Back in the day, it was easier to spin up public opinion. There were 3 news stations. Dan Rather would say X, the other two wouldn’t veer from it. Newspapers weren’t all owned by billionaires.
Now, everyone’s scattered and on an individual feed. A good 2/3 of those I talk to who actually talk about politics in social circles (most don’t these days) know nothing or call it “media stirring up bullshit.”
My favorite: more than half our landscaping crew is going back to Columbia because they’re listening to (read: believing) all the hype the media is stirring up on immigration. They’ve done nothing wrong, if doesn’t pertain to them.
And there’s no arguing. Me arguing means I’ve fallen victim to media hype.