The United States No Longer Brings Its People Home
Trump and Bukele’s latest meeting confirms it: the U.S. will now abandon people it once legally protected. This is how authoritarian regimes operate.
A few hours ago, something changed.
In a public meeting inside the White House, Donald Trump and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele stood shoulder-to-shoulder and made one thing chillingly clear: the United States will no longer bring its people home.
They were referring to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who had been granted legal protection by a U.S. immigration judge, lived and worked in the U.S. with a valid work permit, is married to a U.S. citizen, and has a U.S. citizen child.1
In January 2025, under Trump’s authority, Garcia was secretly deported to El Salvador.
Now, he’s being held in El Salvador’s infamous CECOT mega-prison—a place so notorious for human rights abuses that it’s been condemned by the United Nations.
And on live TV, Trump and Bukele said they would not bring him back.
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I’m following this case closely and will keep you updated on what happens next—both in the courts and behind the scenes.
I’m in regular contact with attorneys and legal analysts to help make sense of the implications, and I’ll continue breaking it down in plain English so you’re not left in the dark.
Who Is Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
Let’s set the record straight—because the lies are already flowing.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. unlawfully and did what the law allows: he applied for asylum.
His claim wasn’t granted—not because he was a criminal, but because of a technical deadline on filing.
However, the judge granted him something else: “withholding of removal”—a legal status awarded to people who face likely harm or death if returned to their home country.
The court ruled that he would likely be harmed by gangs if sent back to El Salvador.
That status allowed him to receive a work permit.
He has lived and worked legally in Maryland since, raising a family with his wife and child.
Now, he’s being painted by Trump’s team as a terrorist.
Without evidence.
Without due process.
Without recourse.
What Trump and Bukele Just Said Out Loud
Let’s be crystal clear: this wasn’t a mistake. It’s a blueprint.
Pam Bondi: “He was MS-13. It’s El Salvador’s decision.”
Steven Miller: “No court has the power to bring him back. There’s no version of this where he ever lives here again.”
Bukele: “There’s no way we can let him go. We’re not fond of releasing terrorists.”
Trump: Applauded the prison and asked Bukele to build more, suggesting that even U.S. citizens could be deported abroad if they’re “bad enough.”
This is beyond deportation.
This is a state-sponsored disappearance.
This Is How Fascism Works
Authoritarian regimes don’t start with mass purges.
They start by targeting those seen as vulnerable, voiceless, or “undesirable.”
Label them a threat.
Strip their rights.
Ignore the courts.
Disappear them.
Expand the list.
As I wrote in The Rise of American Fascism, this is the playbook.
It’s been used before.
Now it’s being updated for the American exile state.
This isn’t about public safety.
This is about power.
It’s about testing the boundaries of what the public will tolerate—and what they’ll forget.
They Lied About the Law
Trump’s team insists the Supreme Court gave them full authority to leave Garcia behind.
That’s false.
The Court did not rule that his deportation was legal. They only appeared to say that the government couldn’t be compelled to retrieve him.2
“The District Court should clarify its directive, with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”
Attorneys are now parsing this key tension in the Court’s ruling: the affirmation of the government’s duty to assist in Garcia’s return versus the recognition that courts cannot compel specific diplomatic actions.
The decision appears to suggest that the Court views whatever deal the Trump administration has with El Salvador as a matter of foreign affairs—placing it largely outside judicial reach.
This ambiguity has sparked debate: does “facilitate” imply a meaningful obligation the government must act on, or was the Court simply stepping back from enforcement?
The answer may determine whether Garcia ever comes home.
That said, there’s nothing stopping them from correcting this now—except willful cruelty.
As I exposed in America’s Quiet Export of Human Beings, this is part of a broader effort to outsource detainment and punishment to foreign regimes who won’t ask questions.
CECOT isn’t just a prison. It’s a warning.
Where This Is Going
In that same White House meeting, Trump said he wants to study the laws around deporting violent U.S. citizens to foreign countries like El Salvador.
“You gotta build about five more places. It’s not big enough,” Trump told Bukele, referring to El Salvador’s sprawling and infamous CECOT prison, which has already become central to Trump’s controversial mass deportation efforts under the Alien Enemies Act. “Home-growns are next. The home-growns.”3
His team applauded the idea.
They are building a system where:
The label of “criminal” replaces due process.
The courts are ignored.
And the prison cells are offshore.
And they’re daring us to stop them.
What’s Next
The fight isn’t over—not yet.
Tomorrow, the U.S. government will be back in court to face a contempt hearing over their failure to bring Mr. Garcia home.
Senator Chris Van Hollen has sent a formal letter to El Salvador’s ambassador, requesting a meeting with President Bukele about Mr. Garcia’s detention. In his letter, he writes:
“They did not detail steps that have been taken to facilitate his return, as mandated by the Supreme Court.”
🛫 And if there’s no movement by midweek?
“I plan to travel to El Salvador this week to check on his condition and discuss his release.”
Hat tip to JayJay Legal for bringing this to light.
We are not powerless.
But we are at the edge of something irreversible.
Where I Stand
I said it before, and I’ll say it again: This is the line I’m drawing.
We do not disappear our own.
Not under this flag.
Not in our name.
What You Can Do
Share this post. The truth is being buried in soundbites and spin. Help people see what’s really happening.
Speak out—especially if you are white, cis, or otherwise “safe.” Your voice carries weight in rooms that others can’t enter.
Subscribe to this publication so you don’t miss what comes next. I’ll be covering the court hearing tomorrow and any moves by Senator Van Hollen.
We don’t have to watch this happen in silence.
But silence is how it wins.
Are you with me?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_of_Kilmar_Abrego_Garcia
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a949_lkhn.pdf
https://aaronparnas.substack.com/p/breaking-donald-trump-caught-on-hot