Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) disagreed with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and said Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the recently deported Maryland man, was given due process.
Emmer joined CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, where host Dana Bash asked him to weigh in on Van Hollen’s earlier accusation that the Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia without giving him his constitutional due process rights.
“It’s very interesting when people talk about the fact that this illegal alien, who is not a resident of the U.S., he is a citizen of El Salvador, actually did have due process in an asylum hearing, where his request for asylum was rejected by the Trump administration as part of the promise that they made during the campaign,” Emmer said.
Emmer, like other Trump allies, has accused Abrego Garcia of being part of the Venezuelan gang MS-13 and said the administration was deporting violent members of the gang. Abrego Garcia and his wife have both denied the accusation that he is part of the gang.
Bash pressed Emmer over the deportation and said there was no hearing to determine if Abrego Garcia was a criminal or gang member.
“Actually, I think he was afforded that due process,” Emmer replied. “In this case, an illegal alien was transported back to El Salvador. The administration initially thought it was a mistake. Subsequently, it said it was not a mistake.”
Bash again pressed the Minnesota Republican about what he meant by due process for Abrego Garcia, and if he meant the 2019 hearing that granted him the ability to stay in the U.S.
“I’m talking about when he requested asylum and it was rejected. I’m talking about that hearing, which I’m not going to get into the transcript,” Emmer said, later adding, “He had due process. It was rejected.”
Part of Abrego Garcia’s 2019 agreement was to shield him from violence in El Salvador. Bash noted that he had a protection order not to be deported specifically to El Salvador.
Emmer dodged Bash’s comments and said he found it interesting that Van Hollen and CNN are “doubling down on an illegal alien” and not supporting constituents who are harmed by migrants.
The congressman argued that the Supreme Court’s order for the administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return should be left up to El Salvador.
The Trump administration has made a similar argument, noting they cannot ask a foreign government to return someone. El Salvador has said they would not be returning Abrego Garcia.
“I see a citizen of El Salvador who is now in El Salvador. The United States can’t go in and extract people from countries. This is going to be up to the president of El Salvador, not the Trump administration,” Emmer said.