Back from El Salvador, Dexter not ‘fearful of being loud’

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Oregon Rep. Maxine Dexter returned to Portland Tuesday after a whirlwind trip to El Salvador to demand the release of a Maryland man who the Trump Administration admitted was deported by mistake to a maximum security facility.

In remarks at PDX after she arrived, Dexter talked about the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and said he should be brought back to the US. The freshman congresswoman blasted the Trump Administration and its larger deportation efforts and said due process is being thrown out the window.

The US Supreme Court ordered Garcia’s return be “facilitated,” but the Trump White House has so far refused and said he’s a known gang member. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has also said he will not be returned.

Dexter was joined on the quick trip by Reps. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, Maxwell Frost of Florida and Robert Garcia of California.

Dexter did not actually meet with Garcia while she was in El Salvador, but her delegation talked with human rights groups, the ambassador and others. She said his family is deeply concerned about Garcia’s safety and health.

“What happened to these people is a nightmare. It’s not just these families’ nightmare. It’s a constitutional crisis,” Dexter said. “This must concern, if not outrage, each and every one of us. I refuse to be fearful of being loud.”