Texas congressman files resolution to compel Trump admin to release El Salvador deportation records

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A Texas congressman has filed a resolution of inquiry to compel the Trump administration to release records related to the deportation of individuals to El Salvador.

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) filed the resolution on April 29.

What they're saying:

In a release, Castro provided the following statement about his resolution:

"The Trump Administration has provided no legal and legitimate justification for the unfounded deportation of individuals to El Salvador’s most brutal gulags. Kilmar Abrego Garcia and others are rotting in the bowels of these barbaric prisons despite irrefutable court orders – from the Supreme Court down – that have instructed the return of Mr. Abrego Garcia and other individuals. Now, they are setting in motion the deportation of U.S. citizens without cause.

"Every government official who serves our country makes a commitment to uphold the rule of law. Donald Trump and his Administration have disgraced our Constitution – slashing due process and every legal tenet that holds our democracy together. Each day they go unchecked is another day our democracy and our rights are assaulted.

"Any government official propagating this disaster is breaking the law. I am demanding that the President, the Secretary of State, and other officials involved transmit all records – from agreements made with the Government of El Salvador, to funding provided by the United States, to salient documents and communications – that justify these unconstitutional actions. We will not stop until the Administration is held accountable and Mr. Abrego Garcia and others are brought home."

What is a resolution of inquiry?

Big picture view:

A resolution of inquiry (ROI) is a procedural tool that makes a direct request or demand of the President or the head of an executive department to provide specific information and documentation in the Administration’s possession to justify any action taken by the Administration, says Castro's office.

What is Castro asking for?

Dig deeper:

Castro's resolution is demanding Trump and his administration give the U.S. House copies of all:

• Documents, charts, or tables, including notes from meetings, audio recordings, all email and telephone records, correspondence, and AI large language model conversation transcripts related to the deportation of individuals to El Salvador;
• Agreements or arrangements made with the Government of El Salvador regarding the removal of individuals from the United States to El Salvador and the detention of those individuals by the Government of El Salvador, including on behalf of the United States;
• Funding provided by the United States to the Government of El Salvador to support the detention of individuals;
• And legal justification for such agreements.

The Trump White House would have 14 days from the adoption of the resolution to comply.

Read the resolution here.

Who is Kilmar Abrego Garcia?

The backstory:

29-year-old Kilmar Armando Abrego-Garcia was arrested in Baltimore on March 12 after working a shift as a sheet metal apprentice and picking up his 5-year-old son, who has autism and other disabilities, from his grandmother’s house, according to his lawyers.

Abrego Garcia was then sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, which activists say is rife with abuses and where inmates are packed into cells and never allowed outside. 

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Abrego Garcia’s wife later saw him in photos and video from the prison, identifying her husband through his distinctive tattoos and two scars on his head.

Abrego-Garcia was removed to El Salvador. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials admitted in a court filing to an "administrative error" in deporting him. 

The Supreme Court has since ordered Abrego Garcia returned to the U.S.