Medford, OR – U.S. Representative Maxine Dexter, a Democrat from Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District, made a dramatic entrance at a news conference Tuesday afternoon, wheeling her suitcase from a flight at Portland International Airport. Just off a whirlwind 48-hour trip to El Salvador, Dexter was determined to shed light on the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man wrongfully deported to El Salvador by the U.S. government.
The press conference, held outside the airport’s lost and found area, saw Dexter speaking passionately about the violation of Garcia’s rights and the broader implications of his deportation.
“We’re disappearing people,” Dexter declared, addressing the reporters. “I’m here to vouch for every American citizen’s right, as well as anyone within our borders, to due process.”
Garcia, 29, entered the U.S. without authorization more than a decade ago. Despite being denied asylum in 2019 after claiming he was targeted by a gang in El Salvador, he was granted protection from deportation due to a well-founded fear of gang violence. Garcia also maintained regular check-ins with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which issued him a work permit.
However, in what officials later admitted was a mistake, the Trump administration deported Garcia to El Salvador in 2023. The government claims it cannot bring him back, despite a Supreme Court order that demands the return of individuals wrongfully deported.
Dexter was joined by three other congressional Democrats—Reps. Robert Garcia of California, Maxwell Frost of Florida, and Yassamin Ansari of Arizona—who traveled to El Salvador last week to demand Garcia’s return. Their mission, however, was met with resistance. Salvadoran officials denied the group a meeting with Garcia and did not disclose his whereabouts, although they learned he had been moved from a high-security facility known as the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) to an undisclosed location.
“We were told nothing,” Dexter said, noting that Garcia had been out of contact with his family and lawyer since a visit from Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen on April 17.
The congressmembers’ trip aimed to secure Garcia’s release and highlight the constitutional crisis posed by wrongful deportations. Dexter emphasized the dangers of a government willing to deport citizens without due process, stating, “What happened to these people is a nightmare, and it is not just this family’s nightmare. It’s a constitutional crisis.”
Dexter’s concerns extend beyond Garcia’s case. The delegation also spoke with human rights groups and met with the lawyer for Andry Hernández Romero, a Venezuelan asylum seeker who had been deported to El Salvador under the same U.S. policies. Romero, who had sought asylum in the U.S. from political persecution and violence related to his sexuality, is now being held in CECOT. Dexter and her colleagues were alarmed by reports that detainees like Romero and Garcia have no access to legal counsel or family visits in Salvadoran prisons.
“There is no access to counsel that is facilitated in El Salvador. When they go to these prisons, they are detained and they are disappeared,” Dexter said.
The congressmembers sent formal letters to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, demanding proof of life for Garcia and his access to legal counsel. Dexter also expressed frustration over the lack of response from the State Department, urging U.S. officials to intervene and facilitate Garcia’s return.
This case has garnered significant attention back in the United States, with Dexter’s office reporting a surge in calls from constituents expressing support for her actions. Nearly three-quarters of the calls in recent days have praised Dexter’s decision to travel to El Salvador and take a stand against wrongful deportations.
The controversy surrounding Garcia’s deportation has also been inflamed by claims from former President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly alleged that Garcia is a member of the Salvadoran gang MS-13, a designation that could justify the deportation. Dexter, however, has challenged these claims, stressing that if the government has evidence of Garcia’s involvement in criminal activity, it should be presented in a court of law.
“If we’re willing to let Donald Trump be a decider, that is a dangerous precedent for us,” Dexter warned.
The trip to El Salvador was not the first, as Van Hollen had previously traveled to meet with Garcia’s family and connect them with local human rights groups. With the situation still unresolved, Dexter and other congressional Democrats are preparing for further action, with additional visits to El Salvador planned in the coming weeks to raise awareness and demand the release of other wrongfully detained immigrants.
Dexter, who called on her Republican colleagues to speak out against the deportations, urged them to “step up and find their courage before it’s too late.”
As the fight continues to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia home, lawmakers are calling for greater accountability and transparency from U.S. immigration authorities, demanding that the rights of all individuals—regardless of their immigration status—be respected.