Trump Immigration Actions

In an ABC interview, Trump said he is able but not willing to bring Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the wrongly deported Maryland man, back from El Salvador.Trump’s comments undermined previous statements by his top aides and were a blunt sign of his administration’s intention to double down and defy the courts. “The ‘evidence’ against Abrego Garcia consisted of nothing more than his Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie, and a vague, uncorroborated allegation from a confidential informant claiming he belonged to MS-13’s ‘Western’ clique in New York — a place he has never lived,” Judge Paula Xinis, who is overseeing the efforts to bring Mr. Abrego Garcia back to the United States, wrote in an order this month.

During the interview with ABC News, Mr. Trump also argued that Mr. Abrego Garcia’s tattooed hands were evidence of his gang ties. Mr. Trump has accused him of being a member of MS-13, previously sharing a photograph of the tattoos, altered with the label MS-13 above the symbols. As the interviewer, Terry Moran, pointed out, the label was clearly photoshoped. As Moran repeatedly told Trump that the tattoos had been photoshopped, Trump got visibly angry, first suggesting that it was thanks to Trump that Moran got the interview, and complaining that “you’re not being very nice.” Trump then continued to insist that Abrego Garcia has MS13 tattooed on his knuckles and said that Moran’s refusal to agree to that “is why people no longer believe the news…. It’s such a disservice,” the president said. “Why don't you just say yes, he does[?]”

Trump couldn’t let it go. He brought it up again later in the interview, calling Moran “dishonest” for saying the tattoos were photoshopped.

Abrego Garcia has no criminal record, and experts on MS-13 say his tattoos are not tied to the gang.That was not the only astonishing moment in the interview. Although the Supreme Court unanimously agreed with a lower court that the administration must work to get Abrego Garcia back from El Salvador, the White House has insisted that it cannot comply because only El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, can release Abrego Garcia. But when Moran said to Trump he could pick up the phone and get him back, Trump replied “I could…. And if he were the gentleman that you say he is, I would do that.” When Moran replied “But the court has ordered you to facilitate that,” Trump replied: “I'm not the one making this decision. We have lawyers who don't want to do this.”

“You’re the president!” Moran replied.

The Trump administration sent the mother of a 2-year-old girl to Venezuela and the father to a Salvadoran prison. The toddler is now in foster care in the U.S.