The Supreme Court ordered Wilmar Abrego Garcia returned to the U.S. over a month ago.
Trump is STILL defying them.— Jon Cryer (@mrjoncryer.bsky.social) May 13, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Excellent expose from the Washington Post: “Trump’s 48-hour scramble to fly migrants to a Salvadoran prison” [gift link]:
The message from Secretary of State Marco Rubio to El Salvador’s Foreign Ministry outlined an audacious plan: The United States would be sending as many as 500 Venezuelan gang members to the Central American nation, and it planned to do so within 24 hours.
The March 13 communication was part of secretive negotiations with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and served as Rubio’s formal notice that the Trump administration was sending the Venezuelans to be imprisoned there for a year “or until a determination concerning their long-term disposition is made,” documents show. Detainees at the megaprison have no access to lawyers or contact with their families.
A Washington Post investigation shows how officials raced to execute the plan, rounding up some of the men at their homes the same day Rubio’s message went out. And they pressed forward with the removals, even as Venezuela agreed to accept deportation flights, in a high-stakes bid to show power and deter migrants from attempting to cross the border illegally.
The Post examined immigration and court records, and conducted interviews with attorneys, friends and family members, to piece together information about more than 50 of the men believed to be imprisoned at the Terrorism Confinement Center, the megaprison often referred to by its Spanish acronym, CECOT. The review shows that despite the administration’s claims, many of the immigrants sent to El Salvador had entered the United States legally and were actively complying with U.S. immigration rules…
Per the Bulwark, “Kilmar Is a Symbol Now – And the White House is desperately trying to fight it”:
… Why is the White House working so hard to smear this man, even after the administration acknowledged it wrongly deported him to a prison in El Salvador known for human rights abuses? After defying a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court order to facilitate his return, the administration has become obsessed with winning the public-relations fight over who Abrego Garcia is, because We accidentally sent a Maryland dad to a foreign torture prison and can’t be bothered to get him back doesn’t poll well outside the extreme MAGA fringe. In the administration’s thinking, Abrego Garcia must be a villain—and in their telling, he’s a dangerous gang member no one should want to bring back into the country…
FreeKilmar and ‘Bring Kilmar Home’ are bornAmir Fallah is an artist who exhibits his work around the world. One of his pieces is currently being shown at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Called “You Can’t Use an Old Map to Explore New Worlds,” it’s pretty badass.
Fallah’s neighbor is Chris Newman, one of the lawyers working on Abrego Garcia’s behalf. Fallah’s and Newman’s kids are best friends.
When the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), where Newman serves as general counsel, needed help to get the word out about their April 19 call to action for artists to create works about the injustice of Abrego Garcia’s case, Newman knew whom to call…
Protestors call for the release of Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to CECOT prison in El Salvador before the administration of US President Donald Trump admitted he was sent there due to an “administrative error,” outside the Metropolitan Detention Center of the Federal Bureau of Prisons during a May Day Workers Unite! march in Los Angeles, California, on May 1, 2025. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
zhena gogolia
AL, you have Wilmar in the headline.
Anne Laurie
@zhena gogolia: Thanks, fixed!
Manyakitty
So much needless pain. We are ruled by monsters.
SpaceUnit
Administrative Error is going to be as infamous as final solution.
schrodingers_cat
@Manyakitty: Indeed we are.
SiubhanDuinne
My new daily ritual includes saying his name every day. I have no idea where that falls on the useful-to-futile scale, but simply keeping him in mind seems like something I, personally, have to do.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
Thanks for this post, AL. The art is impactful.
linnen
Nitpick with the article quote, isn’t MAGA already the extreme fringe?
Then I read again that it was from the ‘Bulwark’, so yes there are people that think MAGA has an extreme fringe and there is a non-fringy MAGA that does not want to throw brown people into a foreign run GITMO.
Chetan Murthy
I think about Mr. Abrego Garcia every day. I wrote to Gov. “GoodHair” Newsom about him, explaining that if he couldn’t stand up for immigrants in Calfornia, how could I trust that he’d stand up for me? And if he wouldn’t stand up for me, then what business did I have staying in California (and the US)?
Manyakitty
@SiubhanDuinne: Like Arya Stark’s list
SiubhanDuinne
@zhena gogolia:
To be fair, so does the very first tweet.
schrodingers_cat
OT: This miniseries based on Lapierre and Collins book, Freedom at Midnight about how independent India and Pakistan came to be, looks interesting.
Its available on Sling TV for streaming.
Traile
You need to know the origin story of India and Pakistan to understand the bad blood between the two countries.
suzanne
@SiubhanDuinne:
It helps keep you emotionally connected to others, and that matters.
WTFGhost
One question I’ve pondered, and I know others have as well.
Let’s pretend the Tadmin (rhymes with “tantrum”) gave each person the opportunity to prove who they were, and to rebut the evidence the government has against them. Let’s even posit that some reasonable evidentiary standard is created by the judiciary, since the Tadmin won’t use one.
Under what legal authority can the President throw a person into even, say, a domestic prison, for a year, incommunicado, if they are a terrible, ruthless, vicious, murderous, raperous, puppy-killerous, people who are FORBIDDEN for the TENTH TIME to use the “I know Noem is, but what am I?” defense, etc., member of Gang De Headline, if they’ve committed no crime in the US?
I mean, I get the Tadmin is still using the “the courts have no authority over those who save their country!” defense, so, first, we’re establishing that habeas corpus exists and must have real force behind it. I mean, after that, when the Tadmin is saying “we’re holding them because (there must be an argument, right?) which grants us authority to detain them for a period of X days, incommunicado if we feel like it.” They can’t really be invoking the “Nanny nanny boo boo” defense this early, can they?
Jay
https://bsky.app/profile/thetnholler.bsky.social/post/3lp7lytuv5k2x
DJTdiot supporter had to close 3 of his bar/restaurants, over the weekend, because of ICE raids, and he only employs the undocumented. So he closed up rather than have ICE human traffic his staff.
bbleh
This, very much this. Make the issue “immigrants,” and the MAGAtariat and the Wingnut Wurlitzer are free to go nuts with categorical slander (“drug dealers,” “rapists,” “criminals,” “disease carriers,” “anchor babies”), but make it *A* “Maryland dad” with a recognizable face hustled off to a foreign torture prison by faceless bureaucrats and the whole conversation changes.
Likewise imo not Medicaid generally (“welfare,” “deficit,” “moochers,” “out-of-control librul spending”) but *A* widowed grandmother who has exhausted her savings and sold her house and now is facing eviction from her assisted living facility.
National Republicans are monsters, and the HUMAN consequences of their monstrosity need to be shouted from the rooftops every day.
@Manyakitty: oooh yes.
zhena gogolia
@SiubhanDuinne: I know, but I thought it should be correct in the headline.
Kirk
Yeah, I want Garcia back but that’s just a symbol.
I want them all back; including the rapists and murderers and drug dealers (if there are any).
Due process applies to all, not just to the “right people”. No person shall be deprived of liberty without the due process of law.
Bring them back. Give them their due process. If found guilty penalize them or deport them in accordance with our laws. If innocent, leave them to increase us all.
SiubhanDuinne
@suzanne:
I think that’s exactly right, and I hadn’t yet made it explicit, even to myself. Thank you.
SiubhanDuinne
@zhena gogolia:
I don’t disagree!
BlueGuitarist
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a member of SMART (International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers). The union is working to bring him home, includes a video
https://www.smart-union.org/defending-our-rights-fighting-for-kilmar-abrego-garcia-and-his-right-to-due-process/
building trades unions too:
Check out this short video of Frank Murray, President of Ironworkers Local 7, Boston, putting the story in the context of worker safety and the billionaire class trying to pit workers against each other:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJmn6qaP0YE/
BlueGuitarist
Another piece of the MS-13 story, Salvadoran newspaper El Faro, via Mother Jones:
Corrupt Salvadoran president Bukele does not want any MS-13 leaders who might testify about the deal he made with MS-13 to stand trial in the US and reveal his connections to them,
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/04/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-trump-deportation/
Josie
@SiubhanDuinne: I do something similar. In the Episcopal service, there is a time for prayers of the people. One paragraph prays for people who are ill or suffering, and I have been quietly saying Mr. Abrego Garcia’s name then. It is a little thing, but I hope he realizes how many people are thinking of him.
YY_Sima Qian
@BlueGuitarist: Good to see the unions asserting their influence.
YY_Sima Qian
Unfortunately, the courts (especially SCOTUS) do not really have people w/ guns in their disposal to enforce their judgments.
TONYG
This is an impeachable offense by Trump, of course, if we still had a functioning democratic republic.
Omnes Omnibus
@YY_Sima Qian: Court decisions still matter.
Sandia Blanca
@SiubhanDuinne: This is a great idea, SiubhanDuinne (or may I call you Subaru Diane?). I will start doing this too.
Jay
@TONYG:
Too bad senior Dem “leadership” have cancelled Impeachment.
zhena gogolia
@Jay: Republicans will never convict. They had their chance twice and they didn’t take it, even after he attacked the Capitol. It’s a waste of time for Democrats. I’m not blaming Democrats for anything.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Chetan Murthy:
We can only hope that when he runs in 28, a lot of us will still be around to remind people he’s a crap candidate.
Jay
The Daily Beast
@thedailybeast.bsky.social
Follow
Kristi Noem has been working with the producer of “Duck Dynasty” to pitch a reality TV show—titled “The American”—where immigrants will compete in a string of challenges across the country “for the honor of fast-tracking their way to U.S. citizenship,” according to a new report.
Noem Plots Reality Show Where Migrants Fight for Citizenship
A Homeland Security official told the Daily Beast that the show is in the early stages of vetting, though approval has not been given—or denied.
http://www.thedailybeast.com
May 15, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Everybody can reply
515 reposts
2.7K quotes
1.2K likes
MagdaInBlack
@Jay: JFC
Professor Bigfoot
@zhena gogolia:
Not to worry, someone will be along to do that little thing soon enough.
Jay
@zhena gogolia:
While Rethugs never convict, it’s a stage for the Democratic Party to get some of the illegal stuff in the Media, making it clear to the FNNYT that this shit is illegal. Maybe even some judges.
Harrison Wesley
@Jay: Didn’t the Romans used to stage shit like that in the Colosseum?
Jay
@Harrison Wesley:
Yup. But they got “freedom”, not citizenship, because everybody under the rule of Rome was a “citizen”, some more than others.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Jay:
I don’t care what kind of Political Performance Theater Dems do in the House via a vis impeachment. If it’s a better publicizing tool, great
But expecting FTFNYT to admit anything he’s doing is illegal is beyond wishful thinking.
Steve LaBonne
Knowing that Trump will never face any accounting for his crimes makes me want to throw up.
Timill
@Jay: Apart from the slaves, the freedmen and the barbarians…
schrodingers_cat
@Steve LaBonne: He will. He has to live with himself and he doesn’t strike me as a happy man.
Jay
LMFAO at DJTdiot’s Middle East Investment deals.
Sawdi Arabia’s deal might be possible, but wont happen.
UAE upped the ante, promising to invest 100% of their GDP in the US.
Qatar topped that by promising to invest 175% of their GDP in the US.
Iran is expected to follow with a promise of 10,000% of their GDP.
Ohio Mom
@Professor Bigfoot:
Are you well enough to travel to Saturday’s meet-up? I want to meet you in real life!
Professor Bigfoot
@Ohio Mom: I’m planning on it.
Jay
https://bsky.app/profile/nkalamb.bsky.social/post/3lp7ey4gcek2k
Freeze peach, amirite?
Jackie
@Jay: I was just about to post that. What’s really unbelievable, is that it’s seriously being considered. “It will be a ratings hit!”
Jay
https://bsky.app/profile/kathleenbush.bsky.social/post/3lp7wojalqs2x
YY_Sima Qian
@Omnes Omnibus: Court decisions matter as far as they can be enforced.
Harrison Wesley
@Jackie: MC’d by Russell Crowe – at the end of each show, he asks the audience, “Are you not entertained?’
Ohio Mom
@Professor Bigfoot: Happy to hear that!
GB in the HC
@Jay:
@Jay: “The American” Season 1 the hunger games.
Steve LaBonne
@Jay: For me but not for thee.
Bill Arnold
Mr. Trump, stable genius, allegedly POTUS (even though constitutionally ineligible, 14th A). Video and rest of transcript at link.
04:02 When you look at what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine, the drone is killing tremendous
Mr Trump explains a bit later that Sean Duffy was a champion pole climber, to excuse his scatter-brain.
Background (2011):
Sean Duffy No Stranger to Logrolling (Jacqueline Linnane, November 4, 2011)
Jackie
Florida Man:
prostratedragon
@Bill Arnold:
During his last term in Congress, Sean Duffy voted to defund the agency that provides air safety.
Omnes Omnibus
@YY_Sima Qian: We disagree. The decisions are important in and of themselves. They matter as something to rally around. They also are markers of the rule of law and show how lawless Trump and his cronies are. Don’t make light of people doing the right thing.
Harrison Wesley
@Bill Arnold: I believe the psychological term for Trumpian speech is ‘coprolalia.’
mrmoshpotato
@SpaceUnit:
And “I was just following orders.”
catclub
we are probably going to find out that judges can only make nationwide injunctions against actions by Democratic Presidents.
Omnes Omnibus
Fuck it. I am out of here for the night.
Jay
Squeaker Johnson:
And that is why, if you wave at the store security camera, shoplifting is legal.
MagdaInBlack
@Jay: Pretty sure I’ve used up my quota of JFC for the evening.
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus: and that, my friends, is why I am now here!
Confidential to Omnes: zing!
Steve in the ATL
@Kirk:
Well said. Everyone is familiar with Miranda rights (probably more than half of you have had them read to you!) but how many people are familiar with Mr. Miranda and why he needed to know his rights? He was an awful human being. But he still had rights! Unlike, BTW, states, which do not have rights.
Steve in the ATL
@YY_Sima Qian:
You are dead to me.
Kidding, of course, especially since I just took a new position as employment counsel rather than labor counsel. So I might actually be “in the ATL” now!
Mr. Bemused Senior
[In the voice of Chico Marx] I got lots of numbers left.
Geminid
@zhena gogolia: Here’s a data point on Impeachment, from a May 4 CNN article:
This proves nothing; like I say, its just a data point. But here’s another one: Democrats impeached Trump in late 2020 and a second time in early 2021, and Trump won election four years later.
Jackie
@Steve in the ATL:
Good for you! How will you ever adjust to becoming a homebody? :-D
Steve in the ATL
@Jackie: I’m more worried about my family adjusting….
Ohio Mom
@Steve in the ATL: Congrats on your new job!
Geminid
I posted a comment yesterday about a May 14 New Lines Magazine article concerning Venezuelans deported from the US to prisons in El Salvador, titled:
This seems like a good thread to link to the article again:
https://www.newlinesmag/reportage/they-wanted-a-better-future-in-the-us-now-they-are-jailed-in-el-salvador
Welp, that link doesn’t work. I’ll try again downthread. It’s a good article, as New Lines reporting consistently is, and worth looking up for those interested.
Steve in the ATL
@Ohio Mom: thank you! So obviously I’ll miss this Ohio meetup….
Another Scott
@Steve in the ATL: Google tells me the decision was 5:4.
:-/
I think the decision was correct, but it shows how close the result was, and the importance of having sensible people on the courts.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Timill
@Geminid: no www
https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/they-wanted-a-better-future-in-the-us-now-they-are-jailed-in-el-salvador/
YY_Sima Qian
@Jay: A lot of the numbers include deals announced in the years past, & many probably will never materialize.
Geminid
@Geminid: I think I found the fault in my link to the New Lines article, so I will try again:
https://www.newlinesmag.com/reportage/they-wanted-a-better-future-in-the-us-now-they-are-jailed-in-el-salvador/
Shazaam!
YY_Sima Qian
@Steve in the ATL: Congratulations!
Timill
@Geminid: A .com helps :-)
Timill
Anyone else collect Kindle Rewards points? I’m puzzled, as my total has increased by 32 over the past few hours without the need to actually buy anything…
Maybe I’ll be up to 300 points tomorrow without having to spend more money.
Geminid
@Timill: I think what tripped me up the first time was I left out the slash at the end, after -salvador/.
Are you familiar with New Lines Magazine? It’s edited by Syrian American Hassan I. Hassan. It covers a wide range of topics in depth.
I was introduced to Mr. Hassan by the journalist Oz Katerji last December, when he cited Hassan as a reliable source for Syria news.
Jackie
@Steve in the ATL:
That’s a fact! LOL
Kayla Rudbek
@Timill: I should go check mine; I will get various rewards if I go with slow shipping at Amazon, and there are some days where they do double points for Kindle purchases.
sab
@Professor Bigfoot: Oh yay!
Timill
@Kayla Rudbek: LIke today (Friday 16th)..
I usually put off Kindle purchases until a double or triple points day.
prostratedragon
Propublica:
BlueSky thread
Darkrose
@Josie: I haven’t been to church in years (and I just learned that my childhood church has closed :( ) but IIRC, some Episcopal Churches let parishoners add names out loud during the Prayers for the People. Is that something your church does, or could you ask the priest to pray for KAG and all who are unjustly imprisoned?
prostratedragon
“Old Photographs [Constantinople],” Christos Hatzis
gene108
NYT (via archive.ph) summary of the Republican tax bill.
Interestingly enough they did eliminate taxes on tips, OT, and a tax credit for people on Social Security. What they also did was make these temporary, set to expire in 2028.
They also pushed the full work requirement for Medicaid to 2029.
Looks a couple of poison pills should Republicans lose control of government in 2028, so the incoming Democrats get stuck with the federal Medicaid work requirement and taxes on tips and OT.
They’re still fucking over people on Medicaid, though.
https://archive.ph/FriNw
Baud
@gene108:
Smart. Republican know people don’t believe us when we tell them what Republicans did.
lowtechcyclist
@Jay:
What color is the sky on your planet?
Manyakitty
@Professor Bigfoot: yay!!!! I’m going, too!
Gloria DryGarden
@Baud: we need to keep going after more journalism and publicity until it becomes something they can’t deny any longer.
republicans doing destructive outrageous actions: as long as it’s happening, shout it loud.
it’s hard. To get people to see it. My republican voting and conservative acquaintances seem Certain they know the truth.
Why? Persuasive lies? Poor discernment? Too much media telling lies and sanewashing… presenting stuff as reasonable or normal. (JFC)
Kayla Rudbek
@Timill: same here, I like getting the extra points