SENATE DEMOCRATS STAND BY ABREGO GARCIA DESPITE NEW DOMESTIC ABUSE CLAIMS

It also asks for the steps taken to comply with a court order demanding his return to the United States. The resolution does not mention Abrego Garcia by name but refers broadly to Americans or U.S. residents “detained or imprisoned in El Salvador.”

Ordinarily, the majority party, in this case Republicans, has control over what gets brought to the floor. But the measure, which is privileged under Senate rules, is the latest example of Democrats using the tools of the minority to end-run that control.

“We’re going to put all of our colleagues on the record,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), a lead sponsor of the resolution, told reporters on Thursday. “If Americans are being sent in violation of the rule of law to El Salvador, we should all want to get a human rights report to see whether this nation is following the rule of law, or not.”

The resolution represents Democrats’ latest effort to draw attention to the Trump administration’s attempts to evade legal scrutiny with its deportations. The White House has invoked controversial wartime powers to deport hundreds of illegal immigrants to CECOT, the notorious prison in El Salvador, without a court hearing.

The administration has focused on suspected gang members, including Abrego Garcia, but many housed in the prison have not been charged with or convicted of crimes, according to a CBS News investigation.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), another lead sponsor on the resolution, traveled last month to El Salvador to meet with Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who lived in his home state of Maryland. He is still detained but was transferred out of CECOT around the time of Van Hollen’s visit.

Four House Democrats made a separate trip to raise concerns over Abrego Garcia’s due process rights, but those visits have since ebbed as Republicans accuse the Democrats of being out of touch with voters on immigration.

The White House, which claims it has no power to return Abrego Garcia, has emphasized his alleged membership in MS-13, an affiliation his lawyers dispute, and accusations of domestic abuse by his wife in court documents.

“The hole that Democrats and the Fake News media dug themselves into by demanding the return of a wife-beating MS-13 terrorist illegal alien just keeps getting deeper,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.

Abrego Garcia’s detention again became a flashpoint this week when Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) denied a report that he was discouraging House Democrats from making additional trips to El Salvador.

Other Democrats who previously teased trips, including Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), will not say if they still plan on going.

“I don’t want to foreshadow any things we’re trying to do to highlight this immigration policy, which is so disastrous and a threat to our due process rights,” Booker said Wednesday.

Abrego Garcia entered the country illegally and was eligible for deportation, but not to El Salvador due to what a judge deemed a credible fear of violence. The Justice Department admitted in court documents that Abrego Garcia was erroneously deported to his home country, but the White House has not brought him back to the U.S. despite a court order to facilitate his return.

In the Senate, Democrats have forced multiple votes using privileged resolutions since Republicans took back control of the chamber in January. In April, Kaine delivered President Donald Trump a rebuke over his tariff policies, with four Republicans supporting a measure to end his emergency powers.

His colleagues brought forward a second tariff resolution that received a vote on Wednesday, but it failed due to Senate absences.

SCHATZ LINES UP WHIP SUPPORT WITH NO SENATE COMPETITORS

Neither was expected to become law due to House language effectively revoking the privileged nature of those resolutions.

In addition to Kaine and Van Hollen, the Abrego Garcia resolution is sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.