DHS Lashes Out At 'Sanctuary Politicians' Who 'Chose to Glorify and Stand' With Abrego García

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) condemned several elected officials on Tuesday for defending Kilmar Ábrego García, whom the agency described as "an MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator."

"Kilmar Abrego Garcia is not and will never be a Maryland Man—he is a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador and public safety threat," a senior DHS official in a statement on the agency's website. The official continued:

"It is insane that sanctuary politicians chose to glorify and stand with an MS-13 gang member over the safety of American citizens. President Trump and Secretary Noem are not going to allow this illegal alien—who is an MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator—to terrorize American citizens any longer"

DHS singled out Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Representative Linda Sánchez of California, and Representative Glenn Ivey of Maryland, accusing them of defending Ábrego despite their positions representing jurisdictions with sanctuary policies. To further support its argument, the agency shared each official's support for Abrego on X.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem first announced Ábrego Garcia's arrest on Monday in another statement on Homeland Security's official site, calling him "a known MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, wife beater, and child predator" and adding that President Trump was not going to allow him to "terrorize American citizens any longer."

Hours after Abrego Garcia's detention, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued an order temporarily halting Ábrego's deportation, stating that the government was "absolutely forbidden" from removing him until an evidentiary hearing scheduled for Friday. His attorneys have filed a lawsuit arguing that the government's attempts to deport him to Uganda, after previously offering Costa Rica as an alternative, amounted to coercion.

Ábrego, who entered the U.S. as a teenager fleeing violence in El Salvador, was previously deported there in March in what DHS later called an "administrative error." He was returned to the U.S. under a Supreme Court order but now faces human smuggling charges, which his lawyers deny.

Below are the X posts referenced by Homeland Security in its latest statement: