By any reasonable measure, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is not a symbol of injustice. He is a symptom of everything that’s gone wrong under the Biden-Harris Administration’s reckless immigration policies. Yet, in today’s twisted political theater, the progressive media and Democratic lawmakers are propping him up as a poster child for compassion — while ignoring the real victims of our broken border system.
According to law enforcement and court documents, Garcia has a long list of red flags: suspected MS-13 ties, a domestic violence restraining order from his wife, and a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee where he was pulled over with eight other men in a car modified for human smuggling. Bodycam footage shows troopers clearly suspecting human trafficking. One even said, “He’s hauling these people for money.” Garcia was found with $1,400 in cash and no luggage in sight — and let go.
This is who Senator Chris Van Hollen flew to El Salvador, funded by the American taxpayer, to defend. Not the more than 200,000 unaccounted-for migrant children who vanished under Joe Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services — many likely trafficked or placed in unsafe conditions. Not the countless American families victimized by cartel-driven crime enabled by an open border. No, the senator chose instead to sip margaritas with a suspected gang affiliate whose own wife described repeated episodes of violence in a 2021 protective order.
Let that sink in: A sitting U.S. senator took a taxpayer-funded flight to meet with an illegal immigrant accused of trafficking, suspected gang ties, and domestic abuse — all while American children go missing in silence. That tells you everything about the Left’s warped sense of morality and priorities.
In their four years in power, the Biden-Harris Administration unraveled America’s border protections at every turn. Joe Biden halted construction of the border wall, rescinded the Remain in Mexico policy, and ended Title 42 — all moves that have led directly to a border crisis of historic proportions. Over 10 million illegal border crossings occurred since Biden took office — more than the entire population of Arizona.
Compare that to President Donald J. Trump’s results-driven policies. In his first term, over 450 miles of border wall were constructed, ICE arrests and deportations of criminal aliens soared, and illegal crossings plummeted. Since returning to office, Trump has reinstated firm enforcement protocols, and just last month, illegal border crossings dropped by an astounding 93% from Biden-era levels. Deportations are up 45% year-over-year, and ICE is once again prioritizing the removal of known gang affiliates and criminals — just like Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
The modern Left claims to stand for justice and compassion, but their actions prove otherwise. Their agenda is clear: weaponize selective outrage to push an open-borders ideology, even if it means rewriting dangerous men as innocent victims. They didn’t show up for the missing migrant children. They didn’t hold press conferences for the women abused by men like Garcia. They only care when the politics align.
Every dollar raised on GoFundMe for Garcia is a slap in the face to legal immigrants who follow the rules. Every social media post defending him is a betrayal to the women who suffer in silence, ignored by a political class more interested in optics than safety. And every margarita clinked in El Salvador sends a message to the world: break our laws, endanger our citizens, and you might get a U.S. senator’s sympathy tour.
Let’s be clear: Garcia is not a hero. He is not a victim. He is a warning. A warning of what happens when we allow ideology to blind us to facts. When we prioritize political narratives over the safety of American communities. When we treat illegal immigration not as a legal issue, but as a political weapon.
President Trump understands what’s at stake. He has shown that strong borders are not anti-immigrant — they are pro-safety, pro-law, and pro-American. His policies put legal immigrants, border agents, and law-abiding families first. And they are working.
If we want a nation that is safe, fair, and secure, we must stop this madness. We must reject the lies of those who glorify criminals and ignore victims. We must demand accountability from those in power who have traded justice for agenda.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia should serve as a wake-up call — not a cause célèbre. Let’s get back to the business of protecting our borders, our people, and the American Dream itself.
Jorge Martinez is Senior Advisor and National Director of Hispanic Outreach for the America First Works. He previously served as press secretary for the U.S. Department of Justice.