House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries appears to be reading the political room—and realizing that defending a deported alleged MS-13 gang member and accused domestic abuser is not a winning issue, especially as the Kilmar Abrego Garcia saga continues to spiral out of control for Democrats.
Big Scoop Here: Jeffries is telling Democrats he doesn’t want more trips to El Salvador
via @Carrasquillo https://t.co/51mmkKItOQ
— Sam Stein (@samstein) April 30, 2025
What began as a calculated attempt by the left to frame the deportation of Abrego Garcia as a “due process” miscarriage has now completely collapsed under the weight of reality—and court documents. Early talking points from Democratic allies painted Garcia as a “Maryland man” wrongfully deported by a hardline Trump administration. But as Justice Department documents, custody court filings, and protective orders surfaced, that narrative quickly mutated into a political liability.
TODAY: Hakeem Jeffries tells Democrats no more trips to El Salvador.
LAST WEEK: Hakeem Jeffries encouraged trips to El Salvador—saying Van Hollen showed “great leadership” and it was “exactly the type of action that, as members of Congress, we can do.”
What changed? pic.twitter.com/2XBrIv5qGt
— Kyle Martinsen (@KyleMartinsen_) April 30, 2025
Garcia was accused of domestic abuse in 2021. His wife filed for a protection order, and even froze on national television when asked about it—a damning moment that did more to hurt than help his image. Additional court documents from 2018 claim he had gang ties, with the father of his partner’s children alleging MS-13 affiliation and expressing concern for the kids’ safety.
Trump’s team, with no small amount of political finesse, essentially goaded Democrats into defending a suspected criminal—and now they’re stuck with the optics.
TODAY: Hakeem Jeffries tells Democrats no more trips to El Salvador.
LAST WEEK: Hakeem Jeffries encouraged trips to El Salvador—saying Van Hollen showed “great leadership” and it was “exactly the type of action that, as members of Congress, we can do.”
What changed? pic.twitter.com/2XBrIv5qGt
— Kyle Martinsen (@KyleMartinsen_) April 30, 2025
In public, Jeffries is hedging, responding to media inquiries with vague attacks on Trump’s approval rating rather than directly defending continued Democratic trips to El Salvador. But behind the scenes, multiple sources indicate he’s trying to slow the roll. According to The Bulwark, two aides and a House lawmaker confirmed that Jeffries is discouraging further trips, acknowledging the political fallout from high-profile excursions like those undertaken by Reps. Maxwell Frost, Robert Garcia, and others.
One senior staffer said bluntly:
“They want to let the El Salvador stuff slow down.”
Jeffries’ spokesperson later called the report “thinly sourced,” but notably didn’t deny that Democrats are rethinking the optics.
Let’s review what Democrats have inadvertently embraced:
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A man accused of gang activity
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Allegations of domestic abuse
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Claims that young children were endangered
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Deportation to a country that refuses to send him back
This isn’t the hill to die on, politically or morally. And it’s no wonder President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador mocked the U.S. push to have Garcia returned, openly ridiculing the idea of reversing a deportation that placed a potentially dangerous figure back under his own nation’s jurisdiction.
Even if you strip away the politics, the sheer absurdity of spending taxpayer dollars to rescue a likely gang member from one of the only places legally allowed to keep him is hard to defend.
NEW: We @nypost have obtained court docs from 2018 showing
Kilmar Abrego Garcia was being accused of gang membership by his wife’s ex and the father of two of her kids.“She is dating a gang member,” Jennifer Vasquez Sura’s ex, Edwin Trejo Ramos alleged in a petition filed in… pic.twitter.com/2Vg1gTYGUf
— Jennie Taer ️ (@JennieSTaer) April 29, 2025
