[1]U.S. Senator Chris Murphy

This is a watershed moment. The Trump Administration illegally removed Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia and deported him to El Salvador.

You may not think this case means anything to you. But let me tell you why it does.

Abrego Garcia came to the U.S. over 10 years ago. He married a U.S. citizen and has three U.S.-citizen children.

But he was put in removal proceedings because he was out looking for work and was accused of being involved with gangs. He wasn’t able to file for asylum then. But, the whole time, he’s denied any gang affiliation and was ultimately given humanitarian protection because he proved he would be harmed if he was sent back to El Salvador. The Trump Administration admitted in court that his deportation was due to an “administrative error.”

You can think whatever you want about the merits of him staying (his U.S. family, his steady job) or being deported (the alleged gang affiliation), but there's really only one key fact:

A court ruled in 2019 that he could not be deported to El Salvador because he would face the threat of death there.

In the United States, the executive is required to follow a court ruling. Trump did not. He put Abrego Garcia on a plane to El Salvador. And worse, Abrego Garcia was put in a notoriously heinous prison in El Salvador.

The Trump Administration said it was an “administrative error” and claimed there’s nothing they can do. This was such a brazen violation of the law that the Supreme Court just issued a rare 9-0 ruling affirming Abrego Garcia was illegally removed and the United States government needed to “facilitate” his return.

Instead of complying, Trump thumbs his nose at a Supreme Court ruling. Trump and his team are engaged in nuclear grade gaslighting — telling the public the 9-0 Supreme Court ruling was in their favor.

They are still in court trying to say it's up to El Salvador if they want to send him back. Bullshit. They could get this guy in a second if they wanted to.

You may not think this case matters to you. But at the time Abrego Garcia was deported, he was legally in the U.S., just like all the rest of us.

This is the constitutional crisis I’ve been trying to warn was coming for months — the confrontation between the court’s ruling and a president who refuses to comply.

It is bone chilling.

If we normalize this, there's no end. When he can lock up or remove anyone, we are all at grave risk. We will no longer exist in a democracy.

This matters because this is power that we cannot give the president of the United States. If we do not sound the alarm, tomorrow it could be you or me that he decides to take off the street.

Every best wish,

Chris Murphy

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