In a move that’s got the radical Left foaming at the mouth, El Salvador’s unapologetic crime-fighting President Nayib Bukele just slammed the door shut on any notion of handing over a suspected gang member back to the United States — despite demands from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man with suspected MS-13 ties, was deported last month under President Trump’s immigration overhaul. Now, leftist lawyers and activist judges are scrambling to reverse it. But Bukele made his stance crystal clear Monday from the White House:
“How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?” he said bluntly, seated next to President Trump in the Oval Office. “I don’t have the power to return him.”
Boom. That’s leadership.
While the Supreme Court — pressured by Democrats — tried to nudge the administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return, Trump’s team has zero interest in caving to the open-borders mob. Attorney General Pam Bondi called it what it is: a foreign matter.
“He was illegally in our country,” Bondi said. “If El Salvador wants to keep him, that’s entirely up to them.”
And keep him they will.
El Salvador Is No Sanctuary State — It’s a Stronghold
Since March, El Salvador has accepted over 200 criminal deportees from the U.S., many of them violent Venezuelan nationals tied to gangs like Tren de Aragua. Instead of releasing them into the streets like liberal U.S. cities, Bukele threw them into the country’s new state-of-the-art mega-prison — a brutal, no-nonsense facility that makes Rikers look like summer camp.
This is the kind of partnership President Trump has forged: tough leaders who don’t back down to criminals or liberal pressure campaigns.
The Left’s Meltdown Over a Gang Member
Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress — including Maryland’s Chris Van Hollen and New Hampshire’s Jeanne Shaheen — are up in arms, demanding the return of Abrego Garcia and others “with no credible criminal record.”
No credible record? Immigration judges found Abrego Garcia had credible gang ties based on confidential testimony going back to 2019. But Democrats don’t care. As long as they can virtue signal and score woke points, they’re willing to roll the dice on public safety.
“El Salvador is doing the job our blue states refuse to do.”
— White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller
In a court filing Monday, Homeland Security reminded everyone that Abrego Garcia is now in the custody of a sovereign nation, and the U.S. can’t — and won’t — extract him. The courts may stomp their feet, but Trump’s team is staying the course.
“He’s a citizen of El Salvador,” Miller said. “It’s arrogant to suggest we should dictate how they handle their criminals.”
Trump Eyes Bigger Moves: Sending U.S. Criminals Abroad?
In an off-camera remark posted by Bukele on social media, Trump floated an idea that’s got liberals in a frenzy: sending American-born gang members to El Salvador too.
“You’ve got to build five more places,” Trump told Bukele. “We’ve got plenty of homegrowns we can send your way.”
The President later doubled down: “Why should American taxpayers foot the bill to jail these monsters here when Bukele can do it cheaper and tougher?”
The Bottom Line: We’re In Charge Now. Not the Courts. Not the Left.
This isn’t the Biden years. There are no sanctuary cities in Trump’s America. This is a return to law and order — and our allies are finally on board.
Bukele has proven himself a vital partner in the global war on gangs. And President Trump isn’t asking — he’s acting.
“I want to say hello to the people of El Salvador. You’ve got one hell of a president,” Trump said.
And America has one hell of a leader, too.