Jesse Scheckner
U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost is in El Salvador with three other Democratic lawmakers to pressure President Donald Trump’s administration to effectuate the return of a Maryland man with protected legal status who was deported last month.
He called Trump’s deportation of the man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, without due process part of a “government-funded kidnapping program” brought about by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Kilmar Abrego Garcia is Trump’s latest victim,” Frost said in a statement.
“As Members of Congress it is our responsibility to hold the President and Administration accountable for defying the Constitution of the United States. Donald Trump and ICE are not above the law. Today it’s Kilmar, but tomorrow it could be anyone else. We cannot and will not let Donald Trump get away with this.”
Joining Frost in the trip — which is not being financed by taxpayer dollars, according to a press note from the Orlando Congressman’s Office — are U.S. Reps. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, Maxine Dexter of Oregon and Robert Garcia of California.
The trip comes after U.S. Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican and the Chair of the House Oversight Committee, refused Frost and Garcia’s request for an official Congressional Delegation to the Central American nation.
It also follows a unanimous ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court backing a lower court’s order to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in an El Salvadoran prison and treat his case “as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”
The ruling came with a proviso, however, that the District of Maryland court’s order to the Trump administration “may exceed” its authority and that the court “should clarify its directive, with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”
Trump administration officials have pushed back against bringing Abrego Garcia back, arguing it is up to El Salvador. The President of El Salvador said he lacked the power to return Abrego Garcia, saying it would be “preposterous” to “smuggle a terrorist into the United States.”
Abrego Garcia, 29, lived in the U.S. for roughly 14 years, during which he worked construction, got married and was raising three children with disabilities, according to court records.
Trump administration officials said he was deported based on a 2019 accusation from Maryland police he was an MS-13 gang member. Abrego Garcia denied the allegation and was never charged with a crime, his attorneys said.
The Trump administration has admitted Abrego Garcia’s detention was an “error,” but has so far refused to abide by the federal Judge and Supreme Court’s orders to return him.
Frost’s Office said he and his congressional colleagues will also advocate for other detainees who were deported from the U.S. without due process.
“What happened to Kilmar Abrego Garcia is not just one family’s nightmare — it is a constitutional crisis that should outrage every single one of us,” Dexter said in a statement.
“We will not rest while due process is discarded, and our constitutional rights are ignored. We will be loud in demanding that the Trump Administration abide by the Supreme Court’s decision and uphold the rule of law. Because if this can happen to Mr. Abrego Garcia, it can happen to anyone.”
___
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report. Republished with permission.
20 comments
Foghorn Leghorn
April 21, 2025 at 10:06 am
Maxwell Frost making demand? Hilarious. I’m sure the President of El Salvador is shaking in his boots.
Foghorn Leghorn
April 21, 2025 at 10:09 am
Hey Maxwell! We have United States citizens still being held hostage by Hamas. Any interest in them?
JD
April 21, 2025 at 10:26 am
This comment by Foghorn Leghorn is propaganda because:
1.) It uses a false choice fallacy.
It frames caring about U.S. hostages and caring about others as mutually exclusive, when they are not. This forces an artificial, manipulative decision.
2.) It attempts emotional manipulation.
It tries to guilt people into agreement by weaponizing patriotism and outrage. This short-circuits rational discussion by appealing to fear and loyalty instead of logic.
3.) It frames disagreement as moral failure.
It implies that anyone who questions the framing is uncaring or immoral. This is designed to silence opposition rather than invite real conversation.
This is a public service announcement.
Foghorn Leghorn
April 21, 2025 at 10:39 am
You can call off the Tesla, George Floyd, Defund the Police activists. What will probably happen here is that this illegal will come back to the United States. He will get his hearing and then get deported right back to El Salvador. At what cost will this be to the US taxpayers? What about the three stooges (Biden, Harris, Mayorkas) allowing millions to enter here illegally ? What will that cost eventually be to the US taxpayers?
JD
April 21, 2025 at 10:53 am
This is also propaganda because:
1.) Scapegoating and deflection.
Instead of addressing the original point about American hostages, it shifts blame onto activists, immigrants, and politicians. This avoids the issue and scapegoats unrelated groups.
2.) Emotional labeling.
Terms like “Tesla, George Floyd, Defund the Police activists,” and “three stooges” are used to provoke anger, not make a logical argument. It appeals to emotion over reason.
3.) False equivalence.
It compares a hostage situation with immigration policy, pretending they are equally urgent or related. They are not, and linking them confuses the conversation intentionally.
4.) Fearmongering.
It throws out “millions entering illegally” and “cost to taxpayers” without context or facts. This is meant to create fear, not inform.
5.) Anger stacking.
By piling multiple grievances together in a rapid list, it tries to overwhelm the reader emotionally. This tactic shuts down critical thinking and invites reaction, not reflection.
This has been a public service announcement.
You do really suck at this, don’t you?
EARL PITTS AMERICAN
April 21, 2025 at 8:42 pm
Good evening JD,
My, EARL PITTS AMERICAN’s, Sage Attorneys, have noticed that you have been “Plagurizing” my style of posting of my, EARL PITTS AMERICAN’s, “Golden Nuggetts of Sage Wisdom”.
It looks like they already sent out a “Cease And Dissist Order” for you to stop or face prosicution. However, I, EARL PITTS AMERICAN, have already called them and told them that its OK because you are now working for me, EARL PITTS AMERICAN.
So if you get a letter from Esquires; Dewey, Cheetum, & Howell, you can just ignore it and “Relax Your Political Sphincter”, keep up the good work, JD,
EARL PITTS AMERICAN
JD
April 21, 2025 at 9:25 pm
Good evening EARL SHITTS AMERICAN (or whatever you are pretending to be),
I consulted my own attorneys: Common Sense, Logic, and Actual Law. They confirmed what anyone with a functioning brain stem already knows.
Satire and parody are fully protected under the First Amendment.
Even if I were imitating your style (which, trust me, would be a career low), it would be legal.
But let us be honest.
Your “style” is not humor. It is propaganda wearing a clown nose.
You are not clever. You are not funny.
You are just another sad, angry troll trying to wrap garbage in the American flag and call it wisdom.
Now, if you will excuse me, I have better things to do than peel off the human equivalent of a bumper sticker from the internet.
Warmest regards,
JD
tom palmer
April 21, 2025 at 10:39 am
Not sure purpose of his trip besides publicity.
Foghorn Leghorn
April 21, 2025 at 11:00 am
Or as JD says, propaganda. 🤣
JD
April 21, 2025 at 11:05 am
Aww – I see you’re my litte bitch Foghorn. Did I “touch a nerve”? Stop spreading propaganda.
Foghorn Leghorn
April 21, 2025 at 11:40 am
No JD. I’m not your beotch and will never be. If you want to claim some sort of victory then go for it by all means. Hang it right next to your participation trophy’s. Have to say I think it is me that lives rent free inside your head. You seem to follow me around here. I might have to start charging you rent. Zelle, and Venmo work for me.
JD
April 21, 2025 at 11:49 am
This is also propaganda because:
1.) Deflection. Instead of addressing the original accusation of spreading propaganda, it shifts to personal insults and bragging.
2.) Mockery. It uses phrases like “participation trophies” and “rent free” to belittle and trigger an emotional reaction instead of engaging the substance.
3.) Gaslighting. It tries to flip the situation, pretending that you are the obsessed one when the original comment called out their behavior.
4.) Victim-blaming. It paints themselves as being “followed” to imply harassment, even though they are responding to being called out.
5.) Outrage bait. The goal is not to argue or defend, but to provoke you into reacting emotionally so they can avoid being accountable for the original propaganda.
I would say this is a victory. I robbed you of your power and know the secret sauce. It will be sent around accordingly. Before I was goading, but how’s it feel to be my beotch for real?
This has been a public service announcement.
Michael K
April 21, 2025 at 11:02 am
It’s to remind people of our Constitutional right to due process. Under the logic and likely illegal practice of the current regime, any person – including a US citizen and persons with protected legal status – can be rounded up and “disappeared” without due process. Worse yet, this notorious prison is a US-funded gulag – a life sentence to rot and die without a hearing. We still have no proof of exactly who is there, and why. None has not been made public.
All persons are guaranteed due process under the US Constitution. All means all.
Garcia’s incarceration is an admitted “administrative error” that the current administration has no intention of correcting. So who’s next? Student protesters? The press? You? Me?
LeeF
April 21, 2025 at 1:44 pm
I am deeply ashamed of Rep Frost’s trip to El Salvador. We have a lot of gang activity and crime in Central Florida – by both legal and illegal citizens – and people are angry about it and waiting for our government to get tough on criminals. Now I understand why this has become such an issue, of people living here not feeling safe. There is a lot of homeless committing crimes and hanging around near parking lots watching shoppers get in and out of their cars. There are a lot of gang members in and out of the FedEx offices. These are the people that Rep Frost supports to be in our communities. I have a black friend, in Central Florida he lost his mother, raped and murdered from a parking lot. Her murderer seems to be the kind of people Rep Frost wants to defend and represent. I do not know of a single person who wants their community to fall further into crime. But Rep Frost, supports the downfall of our community to gang members and illegals who have not been vetted properly and who improperly entered – as well as – how many crimes are committed by one individual before that individual is caught and brought to trial? For rapists, the numbers of previous attacks before one goes to court is astounding. This is shameful that a government official would disrespect safety of the citizens – as I assume he has a mother – sister – daughter -aunt – grandmother – there must be at least some woman whom he cares about their safety. Will he accompany them personally each time they shop? Or does he think he will be a multimillionaire and afford for his own family to be safe – through his political agenda? This politicized stunt – is akin to a gang initiation rite – Rep Frost wants to get rank – a show that he will do anything to gain power and control. And gives lipstick only to any stance on security or safety of the Florida people.
LeeF
April 21, 2025 at 2:05 pm
This politicized stunt – is akin to a gang initiation rite – Rep Frost wants to get rank – a show that he will do anything to gain power and control. And gives lipstick only to any stance on security or safety of the Florida people.
MS13 on the hand tattoo of Garcia – indicates a full ranking. This means he chose to kill an innocent – or receive a 13s mass beating by other gang members – as an initiation. You do not leave a MS13 – and live. (even Grok knows this –and MS13 is one of the worst criminal organizations and has infiltrated many countries). Only El Salvador has a shortage of MS13 murderers on their streets.
Cecot is less hell – than an initiation victim got. And Garcia has the mark of a successful member who has gone through initiation.And don’t say Garcia elected to be beaten for his intitiantion he doesn’t have the scarred face and broken nose to show that choice. Young men stabbed to death by a pack of MS13 initiates – young women raped and murdered to raise ranks in MS13. MS13 has gone away from killing rival gang members for initiation toward killing any person they meet on initiation day. This is bad news that Rep Frost supports criminals in our Florida streets and parking lots.
My friend, who is black, had his mom raped and murdered from a local parking lot here. Her murderer had suspected gang affiliation.
Floridians, other than a few on this site apparently, do not or should not want gang members in our communities.
JD
April 21, 2025 at 2:54 pm
Just so Foghorn doesn’t think he’s being singled out.
LeeF, your text is absolutely propaganda-laden.
Constant references to MS13 murders, rapes, and violent initiations overstate the danger to induce panic, suggesting that any random person could be killed by an initiate, bypassing rational discussion. (Fear-mongering)
Rep Frost is tied to violent gang members without any direct evidence. The presence of a tattoo is spun into a sweeping indictment not only of one person but of anyone associated with immigration reform or urban safety initiatives. (Guilt by Association)
Rep Frost isn’t just portrayed as wrong, but as evil, power-hungry, and complicit in crime, with political actions compared to a “gang initiation rite,” stripping opponents of basic humanity. (Demonization)
The tragic story of a friend’s mother being raped and murdered is used to make any disagreement feel like betrayal or complicity in such crimes, rather than arguing policy details. (Emotional Blackmail)
Political stunts are compared to literal murder initiations, and Cecot prison conditions are likened to MS13 killings. These comparisons don’t hold up logically but are used to emotionally overwhelm readers. (False Equivalency)
The text divides Floridians into “good” people who don’t want gangs and “others” who are implied to be supporting criminals if they don’t agree with the writer’s stance. (Appeal to Tribalism)
MS13 members are described as all behaving a certain way, and complex social issues like immigration and urban violence are flattened into a simple “good versus evil” narrative. (Overgeneralization)
Words and phrases like “gang initiation,” “lipstick only,” “power and control,” “murderers,” and “hell” are chosen not to inform but to provoke disgust, anger, and fear. (Loaded Language)
Broad emotional concepts like “safety” and “Florida values” are invoked without clear definitions, relying on emotional familiarity instead of specifics. (Negative Glittering Generalities)
Statements like “even Grok knows this” imply that disagreement makes you foolish or naïve, without directly saying it, forcing conformity through implied ridicule. (Innuendo)
Jan Berg
April 21, 2025 at 8:57 pm
I just hope the Democrats continue with such nonsense. Makes it much easier to beat them at the next election. Nobody with common sense would fall for such nonsense
Tjb
April 22, 2025 at 11:04 am
Due process for all.
The only amendment of the 27 amendments that most MAGA support is the 2nd.
EARL PITTS AMERICAN
April 22, 2025 at 7:13 pm
Good evening Sage Patriots,
I just hope Michael Frost does not embarrase our Great Nation by attempting to have homertestical _ex with the “Maryland Man” and his MS13 gang buddies down there.
Thank you Sage Patriots,
EARL PITTS AMERICAN
Foghorn Leghorn
April 23, 2025 at 5:53 pm
So Maxwell has returned home. How did his demands go with the President of El Salvador?
Comments are closed.