Maxwell Frost: Trump Isn’t Doing Anything To Bring Back Abrego Garcia

WASHINGTON ― Fresh off a trip to El Salvador, Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) said Tuesday he can confirm firsthand that President Donald Trump isn’t doing anything to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and his administration should be held in contempt for disobeying a Supreme Court order.

Frost was one of a handful of House Democrats who visited El Salvador to demand the release of Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who was living in Maryland untilthe Trump administration wrongly deported him to an El Salvador prison last month due to an “administrative error.” The Supreme Court unanimously ruled this month that the Trump administration must help return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. to ensure he gets due process.

Now back in his Florida district, Frost told reporters on a press call that he discovered in El Salvador that the U.S. embassy there “is pretty much in the dark” on any plans for bringing back Abrego Garcia.

“We had a classified briefing with the ambassador,” he said. “Leaving that meeting, I can tell people that the Trump administration has not told the embassy to begin the facilitation of his return at all.”

Asked if he supports the idea of Trump administration officials being held in contempt of court over it, Frost didn’t hesitate to say yes.

“I think it is a good idea,” he said. “They are blatantly disobeying the Supreme Court order. The administration will tell you, ‘We’re not disobeying it.’ … I can tell you right now they are disobeying it. We heard directly from people on the ground in El Salvador working, about the administration, that they have not been told to do anything in terms of facilitating his return. And that’s complete defiance of the Supreme Court.”

The Trump administration has repeatedly ignored court orders demanding that it “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release. Three courts ― a district court, an appeals court and the Supreme Court ― have ordered Trump officials to assist with Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. so his case can be handled as if the government had not erroneously deported him.

In the meantime, Trump officials continue to lie about who Abrego Garcia actually is and twist themselves into pretzels to avoid admitting he was wrongly deported. The president himself has scoffed at the idea of bringing him back, saying it’s out of his hands. On Sunday, Trump went so far as to threaten legal action against anyone who doesn’t take his side in the fight.

“Those lying to the American People on behalf of violent criminals have to be held responsible by the Agencies and the Courts,” Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social, the platform he owns.

Frost said Tuesday that he expects the decision over Abrego Garcia’s return to end up before the Supreme Court again, and when it does, “They should definitely find the administration in contempt.”

The judge currently presiding over Abrego Garcia’s case, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, has already suggested she’s weighing contempt proceedings against Trump officials. If she moves forward with it, that could mean penalties like jail, fines or public censure.

A problem for the courts, though, is that these punishments require enforcement by an executive branch agency, all of which are now led by Trump loyalists, or enforcement by officials who can actually feel shame, who may not exist within the Trump administration.

Frost said Democrats plan to keep the spotlight on Abrego Garcia’s case to pressure Trump to facilitate his release. He noted more lawmakers are planning trips to El Salvador in the near future to demand his return to the U.S.

The point of all this isn’t even about Abrego Garcia, he said, but what it means when a president ignores court orders and people’s constitutional right to due process.

“We’re going down a very dark road,” said Frost. “About a week ago, the president, in the Oval Office, said he wants to do ‘homegrowns’ next, and he’s talking about sending U.S. citizens to prisons, gulags and jails across the entire globe, which is obviously unconstitutional and illegal.”

He added, “We want to make sure that we could advocate for the release of Abrego Garcia ― and others as well ― that have not received their due process.”