DHS Agent Makes Damning Confession on Timeline in Abrego Garcia Case
The Department of Homeland Security admitted to scrounging around for dirt on Kilmar Abrego Garcia only after he was wrongfully deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
Freshly returned from a Salvadoran prison, Abrego Garcia attended an arraignment hearing in Nashville Friday, where he pleaded not guilty to two charges related to illegally transporting undocumented immigrants for cash. The charges stemmed from an investigation into a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee, where Abrego Garcia was discovered in a car with several Hispanic men who did not possess identification.
During the hearing Friday, one DHS agent revealed that he was only asked to look into Abrego Garcia's case on April 28 of this year, according to Tennessee Lookout's Anita Wadhwani.
That's more than a month after Abrego Garcia was sent to a notorious Salvadoran prison, and a week after Senator Chris Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador to recover his kidnapped constituent, boosting the story's profile to the national level. That was also a full week after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed, seemingly out of nowhere and without providing any evidence, that Abrego Garcia had 'engaged in human trafficking.'
Last week, after months of claiming that Abrego Garcia would never return to the United States despite being deported over an 'administrative error,' Attorney General Pam Bondi announced his return and made several other allegations against Abrego Garcia that were not included in the indictment.
Since accidentally sending Abrego Garcia abroad, the Trump administration has been intent on smearing him any way it can, repeatedly alleging an affiliation to the transnational MS-13 gang based on thin evidence and even falsely claiming he was a convicted criminal.
Bondi said that if Abrego Garcia is convicted, the government plans to return him to El Salvador after he completes his sentence, once again violating a judge's order preventing his removal.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
3 hours ago
- Washington Post
Donald Trump's immigration plan needs a hard reset
On illegal immigration, President Donald Trump just rapidly executed a rare maneuver: the flip-flop-flip. His administration has spent months talking, and acting, tough on 'mass deportation.' But on June 12, he said that to avoid economic pain he would exempt farms, hotels and restaurants from worksite raids to enforce the immigration laws. In response, the Department of Homeland Security suspended such raids. Then, on June 15, Trump signaled that he was going to take back the exemptions: Mass deportation was back on, especially in places where Democratic officials refuse to participate in enforcing the law. The next day, the department confirmed that raids were back on. We're used to slapdash inconstancy from Trump. But his ambivalence is understandable and widely shared. On the one hand, the presence of millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. makes a mockery of our laws and outrages much of the public. On the other, many industries have come to rely on them and their sudden departure would disrupt the economy, just as Trump said. Those dueling impulses are why the past few decades have seen tough laws and lax enforcement. Trump's most recent idea for splitting the difference — cracking down in blue areas of the country but not red ones — would not improve matters if seriously pursued. What would it mean, to start with, for the rural parts of liberal states with sanctuary laws? California has a lot of farms. Besides, it doesn't make sense: Trump's position would be that illegal immigrants are both a scourge and must be kept living among his supporters — the very people most exercised about their presence in our country. But going full speed ahead on raids everywhere will continue to cause the difficulties that led Trump to consider backing off. The economic costs will fall on his supporters and opponents alike. The administration's methods of enforcing immigration law also seem to be generating public opposition (although Trump has the great advantage of facing a Democratic Party that voters do not believe is committed to fighting illegal immigration). It is suffering defeats in court based on its dubious interpretation of such laws as the Alien Enemies Act. Meanwhile, Trump isn't coming close, by his own administration's count, to deporting the millions of illegal immigrants that he has led many MAGA voters to expect. There is no way for Trump to meet those expectations or avoid difficult trade-offs. What's peculiar is how uninterested he has been in a policy that could ease those trade-offs: preventing illegal hiring in the first place rather than addressing it only after the fact. From time to time, Trump has endorsed making large employers use the E-Verify system to ensure that anyone they hire has legal authorization to work in the U.S. But he barely pushed for it in his first term and has done even less in his second. A broad E-Verify mandate would have multiple advantages over what he's doing. It would turn off the jobs magnet for crossing the border illegally or overstaying a visa. It would change the balance of incentives for undocumented immigrants between staying and returning home, with more of them 'self-deporting' in a way that avoids the litigation and costs of government roundups. Because the policy would apply to new hires instead of existing employees, it would also come with a built-in limit to the economic disruption it would cause. Finally, it would allow more direct enforcement efforts to prioritize criminals and lean less heavily on workplace raids. It's not a perfect policy. E-Verify would impose hardships on some undocumented immigrants — and which ones would depend on the vagaries of the labor market. Some employers would still resist. Some Trump supporters would be unhappy that the policy would, at least tacitly and temporarily, tolerate a large, continuing undocumented population. And the system would make errors. Existing law arguably allows the president to implement mandatory E-Verify on his own. Or Congress could put it in law, ideally pairing it with legal status for people who have spent most of their lives here after coming illegally as children. Alternatively, Trump's efforts at enforcing immigration law inside the U.S. could go the way of the U.S. DOGE Service: inflicting pain and polarizing the public in return for very little lasting progress on his stated objectives. He already seems to grasp the need for a course correction. He just needs to make the right one.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Agents, some in unmarked cars and street clothes, are arresting L.A. immigrants. Who are they?
Immigration arrests in Los Angeles have been headline news and the subject of legal disputes for the past few weeks, but Angelenos watching the drama play out on television and in their communities may be confused about who exactly is putting people in handcuffs and hauling them off. After all, some of the federal agents involved in the raids are in unmarked vehicles, without visible badges, wearing street clothes and covering their faces. Are they U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers or Homeland Security Investigations officials? What is the difference? All these federal agencies are branches of the Department of Homeland Security, which was created to combat terrorism in the United States in the wake of 9/11 terrorist attacks. Its duties include responding to natural disasters, terrorism and homeland security threats, enforcing trade laws (by checking goods coming into and out of the U.S.), as well as managing the flow of people and products at U.S. borders. Three branches of Homeland Security carry out the enforcement of these missions: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Federal agents were most recently sighted without identifying clothing or badges, sporting face coverings and armed with pistols at Dodger Stadium's entry gates on Thursday. When protesters learned of the officials' presence and demonstrated outside the stadium, they held signs that read "ICE out of L.A." But the officials outside the stadium were actually U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents who "were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement," the agency said. Confused? Immigration officials' way of identifying themselves when conducting operations is by verbally saying they're ICE or Homeland Security agents, Homeland Security officials told The Times in a statement. The federal agency also said immigration agents wear vests that say "ICE/ERO" or "Homeland Security" on them, and the name of their respective department is on either one or both sides of their vehicles. "When our heroic law enforcement officers conduct operations, they clearly identify themselves as law enforcement while wearing masks to protect themselves from being targeted by highly sophisticated gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13, criminal rings, murderers, and rapists," said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of Homeland Security. So which immigration officials are in Los Angeles and what is their purpose here? Have U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials been in Los Angeles? At the start of the month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials raided a fashion warehouse in downtown Los Angeles and arrested more than 40 immigrant workers, sparking anti-immigration protests across the county. What is ICE's mission? ICE, along with the agency's Enforcement and Removal Operations officials, identify, arrest, detain and remove immigrants without authorization in the U.S., according to the federal agency's website. ERO agents target public safety threats, the website states, such as convicted criminal undocumented immigrants, gang members and those who "illegally re-entered the country after being removed and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal immigration judges." Read more: What businesses are the feds targeting during L.A. immigration sweeps? Here's what we know Have Homeland Security Investigations officials been in Los Angeles? Two months before immigration officials began aggressive raids across Los Angeles, Homeland Security Investigations officers took part in two separate arrests involving people suspected of being in the country without authorization. In May, HSI officials raided a nightclub and arrested 36 Chinese and Taiwanese individuals there. The location of the club was not disclosed. The officials were also involved in arresting 12 Mexican citizens, suspected of being unlawfully in the U.S. after traveling in a small boat from Mexico to Long Beach. What is HSI's mission? HSI is an agency within the Department of Homeland Security and a branch within Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Homeland Security Investigations focuses on investigating crime "on a global scale — at home, abroad and online," according to the Homeland Security website. This department conducts federal criminal investigations into the illegal movement of people, goods, money, drugs, weapons, and illegal technology exports and intellectual property crime into and out of the United States. Officials also investigate crimes such as child exploitation, human trafficking, financial fraud and scams. Read more: Federal officials arrived, denied entry at L.A. schools amid immigration enforcement fears Have U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officials been in Los Angeles? On Thursday, McLaughlin confirmed that CBP officials 'arrested 30 illegal aliens in Hollywood, California, and 9 illegal aliens in San Fernando and Pacoima.' In Hollywood, officers raided the parking lot of a Home Depot where laborers and food vendors worked. What is CBP's mission? U.S. Customs and Border Patrol maintains traffic at checkpoints along highways leading from border areas, conducting city patrols, transportation check and anti-smuggling operations, according to its website. It monitors international boundaries and coastlines in areas of Border Patrol jurisdiction to intercept illegal entry and smuggling of unauthorized individuals into the U.S. CBP officials carry out traffic checks on major highways leading away from the border to detect and apprehend unauthorized individuals into the United States and detect illegal narcotics. There are two other federal agencies on the streets: Officials vowed to send at least 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles. So far, they have mainly protected federal buildings. It's unclear how many are now on the ground. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided Thursday to leave troops in Los Angeles in the hands of the Trump administration while California's objections are litigated in federal court. California officials argued the National Guard was not needed. The federal government has also deployed some U.S. Marines to Los Angeles. The U.S. Northern Command, which oversees troops based in the United States, said the Marines will work with National Guard troops under 'Task Force 51' — the military's designation of the Los Angeles forces. The Marines, like the Guard, they said, 'have been trained in de-escalation, crowd control and rules for the use of force.' Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot told The Times earlier this month that the Marines in Los Angeles were limited in their authority, deployed only to defend federal property and federal personnel. They do not have arrest power, he said. Local officials have also opposed having Marines in L.A. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Agents, some in unmarked cars and street clothes, are arresting L.A. immigrants. Who are they?
Immigration arrests in Los Angeles have been headline news and the subject of legal disputes for the past few weeks, but Angelenos watching the drama play out on television and in their communities may be confused about who exactly is putting people in handcuffs and hauling them off. After all, some of the federal agents involved in the raids are in unmarked vehicles, without visible badges, wearing street clothes and covering their faces. Are they U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers or Homeland Security Investigations officials? What is the difference? All these federal agencies are branches of the Department of Homeland Security, which was created to combat terrorism in the United States in the wake of 9/11 terrorist attacks. Its duties include responding to natural disasters, terrorism and homeland security threats, enforcing trade laws (by checking goods coming into and out of the U.S.), as well as managing the flow of people and products at U.S. borders. Three branches of Homeland Security carry out the enforcement of these missions: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Federal agents were most recently sighted without identifying clothing or badges, sporting face coverings and armed with pistols at Dodger Stadium's entry gates on Thursday. When protesters learned of the officials' presence and demonstrated outside the stadium, they held signs that read "ICE out of L.A." But the officials outside the stadium were actually U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents who "were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement," the agency said. Confused? Immigration officials' way of identifying themselves when conducting operations is by verbally saying they're ICE or Homeland Security agents, Homeland Security officials told The Times in a statement. The federal agency also said immigration agents wear vests that say "ICE/ERO" or "Homeland Security" on them, and the name of their respective department is on either one or both sides of their vehicles. "When our heroic law enforcement officers conduct operations, they clearly identify themselves as law enforcement while wearing masks to protect themselves from being targeted by highly sophisticated gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13, criminal rings, murderers, and rapists," said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of Homeland Security. So which immigration officials are in Los Angeles and what is their purpose here? Have U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials been in Los Angeles? At the start of the month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials raided a fashion warehouse in downtown Los Angeles and arrested more than 40 immigrant workers, sparking anti-immigration protests across the county. What is ICE's mission? ICE, along with the agency's Enforcement and Removal Operations officials, identify, arrest, detain and remove immigrants without authorization in the U.S., according to the federal agency's website. ERO agents target public safety threats, the website states, such as convicted criminal undocumented immigrants, gang members and those who "illegally re-entered the country after being removed and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal immigration judges." Read more: What businesses are the feds targeting during L.A. immigration sweeps? Here's what we know Have Homeland Security Investigations officials been in Los Angeles? Two months before immigration officials began aggressive raids across Los Angeles, Homeland Security Investigations officers took part in two separate arrests involving people suspected of being in the country without authorization. In May, HSI officials raided a nightclub and arrested 36 Chinese and Taiwanese individuals there. The location of the club was not disclosed. The officials were also involved in arresting 12 Mexican citizens, suspected of being unlawfully in the U.S. after traveling in a small boat from Mexico to Long Beach. What is HSI's mission? HSI is an agency within the Department of Homeland Security and a branch within Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Homeland Security Investigations focuses on investigating crime "on a global scale — at home, abroad and online," according to the Homeland Security website. This department conducts federal criminal investigations into the illegal movement of people, goods, money, drugs, weapons, and illegal technology exports and intellectual property crime into and out of the United States. Officials also investigate crimes such as child exploitation, human trafficking, financial fraud and scams. Read more: Federal officials arrived, denied entry at L.A. schools amid immigration enforcement fears Have U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officials been in Los Angeles? On Thursday, McLaughlin confirmed that CBP officials 'arrested 30 illegal aliens in Hollywood, California, and 9 illegal aliens in San Fernando and Pacoima.' In Hollywood, officers raided the parking lot of a Home Depot where laborers and food vendors worked. What is CBP's mission? U.S. Customs and Border Patrol maintains traffic at checkpoints along highways leading from border areas, conducting city patrols, transportation check and anti-smuggling operations, according to its website. It monitors international boundaries and coastlines in areas of Border Patrol jurisdiction to intercept illegal entry and smuggling of unauthorized individuals into the U.S. CBP officials carry out traffic checks on major highways leading away from the border to detect and apprehend unauthorized individuals into the United States and detect illegal narcotics. There are two other federal agencies on the streets: Officials vowed to send at least 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles. So far, they have mainly protected federal buildings. It's unclear how many are now on the ground. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided Thursday to leave troops in Los Angeles in the hands of the Trump administration while California's objections are litigated in federal court. California officials argued the National Guard was not needed. The federal government has also deployed some U.S. Marines to Los Angeles. The U.S. Northern Command, which oversees troops based in the United States, said the Marines will work with National Guard troops under 'Task Force 51' — the military's designation of the Los Angeles forces. The Marines, like the Guard, they said, 'have been trained in de-escalation, crowd control and rules for the use of force.' Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot told The Times earlier this month that the Marines in Los Angeles were limited in their authority, deployed only to defend federal property and federal personnel. They do not have arrest power, he said. Local officials have also opposed having Marines in L.A. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
