Vice President JD Vance defended the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an alleged member of the MS-13 gang, amid criticism from Democrats and media outlets following a federal judge’s order for the Trump administration to return him to the United States.
Speaking to Fox News, Vance addressed the backlash sparked by the deportation of Abrego Garcia, who had been living in Maryland before being sent to a prison in El Salvador.
"Back in 2019, an immigration judge looked at all the evidence, looked at the data and concluded that this allegedly innocent person that we sent to El Salvador was actually a member of an MS-13 gang,” Vance said.
Here's What They're Not Telling You About Your Retirement
“He had also committed some traffic violations. He had not shown up for some court dates. This is not exactly ‘Father of the Year’ here. This is a person that we don't think should be in our country.”
Abrego Garcia, originally from El Salvador, entered the U.S. in 2011 at the age of 16. According to court records reported by The Atlantic, he claimed to be fleeing gang violence in his home country.
In 2019, a judge granted him a form of protected status called "withholding of removal," based on concerns that he could be targeted by gangs if deported.
Despite that ruling, Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador in March and placed in CECOT men’s prison.
This Could Be the Most Important Video Gun Owners Watch All Year
The White House confirmed the removal and dismissed criticism stemming from reports that the deportation may have resulted from what was described by federal attorneys as an "administrative error."
Vance pushed back on the coverage and public statements made by Democratic lawmakers and commentators.
“Not even the crazy left-wing media criticized the idea that we could deport this person,” Vance said.
“They just took issue with the reasoning for why we deported this person.”
A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S., a move that further fueled debate.
The ruling came amid ongoing legal proceedings questioning the process of his removal.
Democrats voiced strong objections, focusing on the circumstances surrounding the deportation.
Vance responded by criticizing what he described as misplaced outrage, particularly when compared to the response to the deaths of American citizens killed by individuals who entered the country illegally.
"This is such a weird, mistaken placement of priorities… What is it about congressional Democrats that get more angry at deporting violent gang members than they do at the victims of those violent gang members? I don't even understand where they're coming from. They've gone off the deep end, and they've got to come back to reality,” Vance said.
He cited the recent murders of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley and Texas teenager Jocelyn Nungaray, using those cases to highlight what he sees as the administration’s focus on protecting American citizens from criminal threats.
Vance emphasized that the administration’s immigration policy would not be determined by outside political pressure.
"We do not ask permission from far-left Democrats before we deport illegal immigrants. We do the American people's business," he said.
Vice President JD Vance on illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego García: “This was unquestionably an illegal alien. This was unquestionably a person who broke the laws to get into our country. This was unquestionably a person an immigration judge had found had zero right to be in the… pic.twitter.com/ASpVOqyhWb
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) April 4, 2025
Despite the judge’s order, the administration has not indicated how or if it will comply.
The legal and diplomatic complications remain unresolved, particularly given that Abrego Garcia is currently incarcerated in El Salvador.
The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of AirItOutBro.com. Contact us for guidelines on submitting your own commentary.
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.