Commentary by Jerry Lanson

I’ve spent a lot of time calling Congressional offices lately.

Late last week I made six calls – to Sens. Chuck Schumer, Chris Van Hollen, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, and Rep. Jamie Raskin. Soon, I think I’ll devote a marathon day to calling every Democratic member of the Senate and House.

My message yesterday to each of the six was the same: It’s time for Democrats to get serious about bringing home Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the 29-year-old Maryland father of three disabled children, a long-time U.S. resident wrongly arrested on March 15 and flown to a notorious El Salvadoran prison.

In two polls, a majority or plurality of the American public, respectively, say they believe he should be returned. That makes this the perfect time to shine a blazing spotlight on the issue. And the way to do so is for a sizable contingent of Democrats in Congress to fly to El Salvador – and stay there until Abrego Garcia is released.

Abrego Garcia, of course, is one of many immigrants, often documented, who have been seized without warrant, without charges or without due process and carted away, either to El Salvador or ICE detention centers in Louisiana or Texas. The list includes Ph.D. candidates, a high-end medical researcher and others in the midst of legally seeking naturalization or permanent resident status.

But Abrego Garcia in particular has become a symbol of Donald Trump’s utter contempt of the law and the Constitutional division of powers enshrined in the Constitution. In 2019, Abrego Garcia received a court order barring his deportation to his native El Salvador because his life is endangered there. The Trump Administration initially acknowledged he had been wrongly arrested this March but then dismissed the attorney who made that acknowledgement.

Now the U.S. insists the construction worker is a gang member though he has spent half his life in this country and has no criminal record. On April 4, U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis at a Maryland hearing ordered the government to “facilitate and effectuate” his return by midnight April 7. Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts issued a temporary stay of that order but then, on April 10, the entire Supreme Court voted 9 to 0 that the Trump Administration has to “facilitate” his release.

Remarkably, Donald Trump and his attorney general have thumbed their noses at the high court, saying it really is up to the dictator-president of El Salvador, who the United States is paying millions of dollars to house prisoners, to decide if he could come back.

A week ago, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen flew to El Salvador and managed to meet with the detained man. A few days later, the senator, made the explicit point that “I am defending the rights of this man to due process.”

Due process in the courts is absolutely basic to living in a democratic country of laws. Yet many elected Democrats have done their share of shuffling about Abrego Garcia, too. Trump’s position on tariffs is far less popular with the public than his views on immigration. The Democratic governor of California, Gavin Newsom, went to far as to call Abrego Garcia’s case, “the distraction of the day,” a comment that absolutely made me cringe.

Either we live in a country of laws or we do not. Interestingly, the American public seems increasingly to understand that. As has been the case over much of the last three months, many every-day Americans are well in front of their representatives. A recent Economist poll found 50 percent of Americans believe Abrego Garcia should be returned to the United States. Only 28 percent believed the Trump Administration has a right to keep Abrego Garcia in El Salvador.

A second poll, released by The Washington Post Friday, found that 42 percent of Americans believe he should be returned to the United States and just 26 percent believe he should remain in prison in El Salvador. The remainder said they “don’t know enough to say.”

That is where Democratic elected officials can help. A sizable contingent – perhaps 8 or 10 from the House and Senate should go to El Salvador -- attempt to see Abrego Garcia, hold daily press conferences, and publicize and shed light on his case. This contingent should stay there until Abrego Garcia returns.

The reason why they should stay is absolutely straight forward. If documented Americans can be deported without charge or due process to terror prisons and kept there indefinitely, it is only a matter of time before any of us, including citizens, might face the same fate.

Donald Trump does not hide this. On Friday, Politicopublished a story titled, “Trump says he would ‘love’ to send violent American citizens to foreign prisons.”

“We’re looking into that,” he said.

The time to stop him must be now.

Contributing Pundit Lanson’s columns also appear in Jerry’s Substack.