Sen. John Kennedy called Kilmar Abrego Garcia‘s deportation “a screw-up” by President Donald Trump’s administration – but also described it as a one-off error.
“Look, this was a screw-up in my opinion,” the Louisiana Republican said during an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker on April 20. “The administration won’t admit it. But this was a screw-up.”
“And I understand why the administration has bowed up and won’t admit it’s a mistake,” he added. “Because if they do, they’ll have their throats torn out. But it was a screw-up.”
The was 29-year-old Salvadoran national living in Maryland was expelled from the U.S. in March, in what the White House has acknowledged was “an administrative error.” The Supreme Court told Trump administration officials to facilitate his return, but officials have argued they do not have the authority to retrieve Abrego Garcia from another country’s prison.
Trump officials have also released documents alleging that Abrego Garcia is an abusive spouse and member of the MS-13 gang.
“There is no Maryland father,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an April 16 briefing. “Let me reiterate, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is an illegal alien, MS-13 gang member and foreign terrorist who was deported back to his home country.”
Abrego Garcia’s family has denied he was a gang member. He hasn’t been charged or convicted of any crimes.
Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, told USA TODAY last week in a statement that she had acted out of caution after a disagreement in filing a temporary protective order against her husband, which was closed a month after she filed it, according to Prince George’s County records.
No ‘pattern here’
Democrats in Congress have widely called for Abrego Garcia’s return. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, from Abrego Garcia’s home state of Maryland, traveled to El Salvador to meet with him on April 17 and pressed for days before they were allowed to speak face to face. Van Hollen has called Abrego Garcia’s deportation an illegal abduction.
“Chris is my friend, and I respect him. And he’s certainly entitled to his opinion,” Kennedy said of Van Hollen during the NBC interview. “But in my judgment, he is utterly and gloriously wrong. I mean, most of this glossy rhetoric is just rage bait.”
Kennedy also defended top Trump officials, saying that he does not believe the wrongful deportation reflects his administration’s overall record.
“I don’t see any pattern here,” Kennedy said. “I’ve been listening to my Democratic friends say for, I don’t know, since God was a child, that Trump is a threat to democracy. I don’t see any pattern here. I see a screw-up.”
‘Home-grown criminals’
Trump, who has adamantly defended the decision to keep Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, also suggested during an April 14 meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele that the United States could send U.S. citizens who commit violent crimes to prisons abroad.
“Homegrown criminals are next,” Trump told Bukele. “I said homegrowns are next, the homegrowns. You’ve got to build about five more places.”
“Yeah, we’ve got space,” Bukele said in response.
Asked Sunday about the president’s suggestion, Kennedy rejected the notion of sending convicted U.S. citizens to El Salvador or elsewhere, telling NBC, “We have our own laws. … We shouldn’t send prisoners to foreign countries.”
“I love the rule of law,” Kennedy said in the interview. “I love it like the devil loves sin.”
Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: GOP senator calls Abrego Garcia’s wrongful deportation a ‘screw up’
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