Scott Jennings Says Kilmar Garcia Shouldn’t Have Been Sent to El Salvador

CNN Senior Political Commentator Scott Jennings, a conservative, said that Kilmar Abrego Garcia “should not have gone to El Salvador” due to his withholding order by an immigration judge barring him from being sent to the country.

Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security via email late Thursday night for comment.

Why It Matters

Abrego Garcia’s deportation by the Trump administration has triggered an uproar between Republicans and Democrats this week as the White House was previously ordered by the Supreme Court to facilitate his return after an “administrative error.”

He came to the United States illegally and a judge ultimately ruled he could not be deported back to his native country due to a potential threat from a gang. The White House has accused Abrego Garcia of being a member of MS-13, an El Salvadoran gang.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did ultimately deport Abrego Garcia from Maryland to El Salvador along with hundreds of others to a mega-prison. He has no criminal record in the United States.

What To Know

While speaking on CNN, Jennings, former adviser to Republican President George W. Bush, said, “What I am worried about, is that, and I’m going to grant you, he has a withholding order, and he should not have gone to El Salvador.”

“But even if you grant that, he has an adjudicated deportation order, and you have Democrat public officials falling all over themselves trying to get him back here without thinking through the next step. Which is, he is literally going to be deported somewhere else. But my suspicion is when they bring him back, they’re going to try and keep him here,” Jennings said.

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland visited Abrego Garcia in El Salvador on Thursday, he announced in a post to X, formerly Twitter.

Van Hollen said he made the trip to the Central American country to continue “fighting for the return of Mr. Abrego Garcia.”

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has defended his deportation to El Salvador and questioned his character online, pointing to a 2021 petition for protection order filed by his wife.

In an exclusive to Newsweek, Vasquez Sura defended her husband, saying she ultimately decided not to “follow through with the civil court process.”

A federal court on Thursday also rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to free itself of responsibility in facilitating Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States.

Lydia Walther-Rodriguez of CASA, left, and Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, center, head into court on April 15 in Greenbelt, Maryland. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

What People Are Saying

El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele posted to X on Thursday in reaction to Van Hollen and Abrego Garcia’s meeting: “Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the ‘death camps’ & ‘torture’, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!🍹”

In an additional post, Bukele said, “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody 🇺🇸🤝🏼🇸🇻”

Jennings also reacting to Van Hollen’s meeting with Abrego Garcia, posting to X on Thursday: “Party of Women really covering itself in glory tonight”

Trump’s border czar Tom Homan in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Thursday when asked if he knows if there have been any steps taken to return Abrego Garcia: “Look, I think he’s a citizen of El Salvador, he’s in El Salvador, he’s home. He’s an illegal alien with a final order of removal. He’s an MS-13 member, which is now classified as a terrorist, so we removed an illegal alien, MS-13 member, who has a final order of removal issued by an immigration judge, to his homeland.”