| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
|
unidentified
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This weekend, at 7 p.m. Eastern, journalist Michael Wolf provides his behind-the-scenes look at President Trump's 2024 re-election with his book, All or Nothing, How Trump Recaptured America. | |
| And then at 8 p.m. Eastern, Bard College History professor Sean McMeekin talks about his book, To Overthrow the World, The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism, which was selected as the Intercollegiate Studies Institute's 2025 Conservative Book of the Year. | ||
| And at 9 p.m. Eastern, the New York Times' Annie Carney and Luke Broadwater, authors of Madhouse, chronicle the key events of the 118th Congress and the 2024 presidential election. | ||
| Then at 10 p.m. Eastern on Afterwards, Oklahoma Republican Senator James Lankford speaks about his faith, the challenges the country faces, and what he believes needs to happen to improve the country in his book, Turnaround, America's Revival. | ||
| He's interviewed by Wall Street Journal congressional reporter Siobhan Hughes. | ||
| Watch Book TV every Sunday on C-SPAN 2 and find a full schedule in your program guide or watch online anytime at booktv.org. | ||
| C-SPAN's student camp competition challenged middle and high school students nationwide to create documentaries with messages to the new president. | ||
| Our panel of judges evaluated over 1,700 thought-provoking student films on their use of multiple perspectives. | ||
| C-SPAN awarded $100,000 in total cash prizes and our grand prize of $5,000 goes to Dermot Foley, a 10th grader from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. | ||
| Congratulations to all our winners. | ||
| The top 21 winning entries will air on C-SPAN this month. | ||
| You can also watch all the award-winning documentaries anytime at studentcam.org. | ||
| C-SPAN, Bringing New Democracy Unfiltered. | ||
| The Congressional Hispanic Caucus spoke about the detention of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was deported to an El Salvador prison with others accused of ties to gangs. | ||
| Lawmakers called for Mr. Garcia's return following the Justice Department's admission that his deportation was an error. | ||
| This news conference is about 40 minutes. | ||
| Okay, good afternoon, everybody. | ||
| I'm Congressman Adriano Espayal, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. | ||
| We've been joined today by the family of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. | ||
| We have with us Jennifer Vasquezuda. | ||
| We have his mom, who's here with us today, and his brother, who's here with us today, as well, as well as members from CASA, an advocacy group for immigrants' rights. | ||
| And we have been also joined by Senator Chris Van Holland from Maryland, Congressman Glenn Ivey, who represents the district where Jennifer and her family lives. | ||
| We got Representative Joaquin Castro, Chewy Garcia, Nydia Velasquez, Nanette Baragrande, Juan Vargas. | ||
| And so we want to thank all of you for being here today. | ||
| This is an important effort on our part to bring back Kilmar to his family. | ||
| He's got three kids, and the family is worried. | ||
| The children are also Anxious and worried and traumatized with their father's absence. | ||
| This is someone that has not broken any laws whatsoever, has been legally here in the United States of America and was, in my opinion, kidnapped and sent back to El Salvador to a Salvadorian prison. | ||
| And so we are concerned that we're demanding that he's brought back to his family. | ||
| We want to hear from the family first because they want to share their story with you. | ||
| And I think America deserves to know their story. | ||
| We've been joined by Congresswoman Veronica Escobar. | ||
| And the country needs to hear this story. | ||
| This effort against immigrants is not just against someone that maybe committed a violent crime and went to court and was found guilty. | ||
| This has impacted people that are legally here, including U.S. citizens. | ||
| U.S. citizens that don't fit the profile are also being scapegoated. | ||
| They're being stopped, interrogated, and moved around. | ||
| I met with one of those folks in New York City who was interrogated for two hours, although he had a federal ID with him and was a U.S. citizen, as were his children and wife. | ||
| So we're here for Kilmar today. | ||
| He deserves to be next to his family. | ||
| He has broken no law. | ||
| There is no reason why he should have been sent back to a prison, and we are demanding that he comes back. | ||
| With that, I want to introduce you to Jennifer Vazquez-Sura. | ||
| Bienvenida. | ||
|
unidentified
|
My name is Jennifer. | |
| On March 12th, my husband Kilmar was abducted and disappeared by the Trump administration. | ||
| It's been 28 days since I lost my husband, since his children hugged him, since his mother kissed him, since his brother has talked to him. | ||
| Court ruled that indeed this should have never happened. | ||
| That my life partner Kilmar should have returned home 50 hours ago. | ||
| But here I am again today, standing before you, pleading that you continue to uplift his story and remember his name because the Trump administration and the Bukele administration continues to delay the reunification of my family. | ||
| This so-called administration error has destroyed my family's happiness, my children's innocence. | ||
| Kilmar, if you can hear me, I'm still fighting for you. | ||
| Your brother, your mother, your children are still fighting for you. | ||
| We're not going to give up hope to the Supreme Court justice to the right thing. | ||
| History will always remember you. | ||
| To everyone at home who can still hear my voice and are fighting for the return of their loved ones. | ||
| Keep fighting for Kilmar and all the Kilmars out there. | ||
| Let Kilmar's word inspire you. | ||
| Si tuedes fuerte. | ||
| Yo, Sere Fuerte. | ||
| The administration continues to our attacks will not keep us silent ever. | ||
| Thank you to Casa and our attorneys and all the members of the Congress for standing here today and all the effort in fighting back for my family and all the immigrant communities. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Thank you, Judge. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Gracias, Jennifer. | ||
| Estamos aquí para la familia de Jennifer, la madre de Quilmar que está conosotro su hermano susijos que lo espera na en su casa, Quilmar no abiolentado ni ngunale. | ||
| No ninguna razón, legal por cuar el cededo de encontrale una prisión en el Salvador el debestar alado de su familia y su sijos. | ||
| Su mujere su sijos. | ||
| And families that are split are vulnerable. | ||
|
unidentified
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They face great challenges. | |
| And a collection of split families make a weak nation. | ||
| Our nation is strong when the families are together. | ||
| And so we're here to support that concept. | ||
| And we're going to ask now Senator Chris Van Hollen from Maryland to come up and say a couple of words. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| Well, thank you, Congressman. | ||
| Thank all the members of the CHC and the members who are here and all of you. | ||
| And to Kilmar's family, to Jennifer, his beloved wife, to Cecilia, his mother, to Cesar, his brother. | ||
| We are with you in this fight for justice, and we demand, we demand that Kilmar be returned home now. | ||
| What has happened here should never happen in the United States of America. | ||
| This is a person who was here legally. | ||
| He was a steel worker. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Congressman Ivey and I are proud to represent him and his family in Maryland. | |
| And he was whisked off without any due process and is now in a torturous and treacherous jail in El Salvador. | ||
| This is something that is so reprehensible that we will fight back in the courts and we'll fight back in Congress, we'll fight back in our communities. | ||
| But right now, of course, this is in the courts. | ||
| And I am heartened by the fact that, as you said, Jennifer, a Maryland judge, federal district court judge Innes, found, and I quote, there were no legal grounds whatsoever for his arrest, detention, or removal. | ||
| She went on to say, his detention appears wholly lawless. | ||
| Lawless. | ||
| The judge pointed out, and again I want to quote, particularly to Abrego Garcia, the risk of harm shocks the conscience because of the dangers he faces every day in that El Salvador prison. | ||
| And the Trump administration is lying. | ||
| JD Vance lied through his teeth when he said that Kilmar had been convicted of a crime in the United States. | ||
| Absolutely false. | ||
| And the Vice President of the United States should apologize to the family, and he should do it now. | ||
| We also continue to hear lies from the administration. | ||
| And I will point out when the government's lawyer admitted in court that Kilmar had been accidentally disappeared, the Trump administration put that lawyer on administrative leave. | ||
| They punish people who tell the truth, and they reward people who lie. | ||
|
unidentified
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And so all of us need to make sure that we stand together at this time. | |
| And I just want to say again to the family, we will work with you to make sure justice is done if Kilmar comes home. | ||
| And I want to thank you also for coming forward to have the courage to do it. | ||
| And when you do that, you embolden others because, as you know, it's not just Kilmar and it's not just your family. | ||
| We are seeing people being disappeared across the United States. | ||
|
unidentified
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In some cases, they're visiting students. | |
| In some cases, there are other people who are legal immigrants. | ||
| And what you're doing is standing up, yes, for your family and for your kids and for your husband. | ||
| But you're also standing up for all those other people right now who are under threat from a lawless administration. | ||
| And that's why we all stand with you. | ||
| And I know that we will prevail. | ||
| Justice has to prevail because I'm not – the Trump administration looks like more and more of a police state every day. | ||
| And that's a country that none of us recognize. | ||
| And we're all fighting for the country we love. | ||
| Thank you, Greg Compson. | ||
| El Vice Presidente JD Vance es unmentiro. | ||
| Cuando dijo que Kilmar había cometido un delito. | ||
| Una jueza de el estado de Maryland dijo que la resto de Kilmar era un acto illegal violentado violento el estado de derecho. | ||
| Kilmar es un trabajador de la construcción y apoya financieramente, moralmente a su familia y por eso estamos aquí. | ||
| Now we're going to hear from the representatives of the Kilmer families is Glenn Hivey from the state of Maryland. | ||
| Thank you very much to the family. | ||
| I thank you for being strong. | ||
| You're making a huge difference here, as Chris pointed out. | ||
| Let me get this straight. | ||
| The government admits that they made an error. | ||
| The lawyer who comes into court agrees with that and acknowledges it. | ||
| And we know that that was bothering the Trump administration because they punished him for having said the truth when he was in court. | ||
| But then they go to the press conference room and engage in character assassination and lies. | ||
| I think it's time for them to put up or shut up. | ||
| Bring him back. | ||
| Let's get him in court. | ||
| Have the day in court. | ||
| The Supreme Court's had some rulings that came out where they, you know, the Trump administration is pretending like they're ruling in their favor. | ||
| But every ruling so far has said, you get a day in court. | ||
| Let's have the day in court. | ||
| And I think if we get that chance again, it'll be just like the lawyer that's on suspension right now. | ||
| They'll have to acknowledge they lied about his character. | ||
| They attacked his character wrongly. | ||
| We'll have to point out to them, too, the sheet metals. | ||
| He's working. | ||
| He's here in the community. | ||
| He's following the court order that he was under at the time. | ||
| And instead of doing that, they're trying to leave him in a prison in El Salvador with the gang that he said he needed to get away from. | ||
| They sent him to the most notorious prison in the Western Hemisphere. | ||
| It's shocking, it's horrible, it's tragic, and it needs to change immediately. | ||
| So we stand with you in support. | ||
| We're going to keep fighting for it with you. | ||
| And I hope that sooner or later, the rule of law will prevail and we'll win this case and he'll come back. | ||
| Thank you so much. | ||
| Let me just inform you that I will be writing to the Bukele administration to formally ask for his release and also to make arrangements to go visit him because the family has not heard from him for over 25 days. | ||
| So we don't know his condition. | ||
| The family deserves to know his condition. | ||
| And if they don't tell us, we will visit the prison ourselves to go visit him. | ||
| So we expect to do that this week. | ||
| And with that, let me introduce La Luciadora, Congresswoman Nidia Velázquez. | ||
| Thank you, Espayat and Jennifer. | ||
| We want for you to know and your family that you're not alone. | ||
| We'll be with you until the end when we bring your son, your husband, home where he belongs. | ||
|
unidentified
|
There has been widespread outrage since Kilmar's disappearance. | |
| And in response, the Trump administration has thrown around vague claims about his character. | ||
|
unidentified
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They haven't produced a shred of proof. | |
| No criminal record, no gun ties, nothing. | ||
| They want to act with impunity to put all immigrants on notice, regardless of their status. | ||
| But we are here to send a clear and loud message to the Trump administration. | ||
| This is a nation of law, and no one is above the law. | ||
| This is what happens when an administration decides it's above the law, when due process is treated like an inconvenience, when immigrant families are seen as disposable. | ||
| And we must take responsibility for bringing him back. | ||
|
unidentified
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The Supreme Court has ruled that people deported under the Alien Enemies Act must still have access to the courts. | |
| Kilmar never got his day in court. | ||
| That is a miscarriage of justice, and it must be corrected. | ||
| Our country has the power and the responsibility to bring him home. | ||
| If we want to claim to care about human rights, we cannot let this man rot in prison, in a foreign prison. | ||
| And if they don't want to act, then Congress will keep the pressure on. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Secretary Non, Secretary Rubio, this is on your watch. | |
| Just yesterday, I sent Secretary Rubio a letter demanding answers about Kilmar's case and the broader human rights abuses happening at SETCO. | ||
|
unidentified
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You owe us answers. | |
| You owe this man's family answers. | ||
| And you owe the American people an explanation for why the Constitution seems optional under your leadership. | ||
| We will not stop until Kilmar is home. | ||
|
unidentified
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We will not stop until there is justice. | |
| Thank you very much. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Now we will hear from Congressman Joaquín Castro. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Chairman. | |
| Thank you also to my colleagues who are here to call attention and to demand that Kilmer Albrego Garcia be brought home. | ||
| To his family, I send my support. | ||
| Kilmer was a working man, a husband, a father. | ||
| There's something that he was not. | ||
| A criminal. | ||
| Kilmer is not a criminal. | ||
| And he had every legal right to be in the United States. | ||
| His story and his fate are a cautionary tale for every single American. | ||
| If this administration will start to strip away the constitutional rights of people who have the right to be in this country, they will start with the people who are vulnerable, whom they can paint as undesirable, even if they lie about that, and they will slowly move on to other folks. | ||
| In fact, we've seen that start to happen already. | ||
| Legal residents have been harassed. | ||
| DACA recipients have been harassed. | ||
| Even United States citizens have been harassed by this administration. | ||
| It makes you wonder whether we're in America. | ||
| It's up to all of us to stand up for the rule of law, to stand up for our constitutional rights, to stand up for Kilmer. | ||
| People from across the political spectrum, conservative and liberal, have spoken out about how scary this is, about how scary the Trump administration is becoming. | ||
| And just as reckless and chaotic as his decisions have been about tariffs, so too have his decisions been about this, about deportations. | ||
| And so we join you, Jennifer, and the family, in demanding that Kilmer be brought back. | ||
| And I want to say one last word about El Salvador. | ||
| A beautiful country, but a country with a leader who has become a mercenary. | ||
| A mercenary who it looks like is complicit in violating human rights. | ||
| Make no mistake, Kilmer and others who have been deported, some on shaky grounds under the Alien Enemies Act, are in gulags. | ||
| They are in torture prisons. | ||
| And President Bukule is responsible for that. | ||
| And at some point, he also must be held accountable. | ||
| Thank you, Joaquin. | ||
| We will now hear from Congressman Juan Bargas. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you very much. | |
| First, I want to thank the family for being here. | ||
| I want to thank you, Jennifer, in particular. | ||
| And I especially want to thank you for your tears. | ||
| Because I think the American people got to see the hurt of so many families in America right now. | ||
| Your tears are joined with the tears of many people in my district in San Diego, and they form a stream. | ||
| And throughout this country, they form a river, a river of tears, because of what's happening to families. | ||
| Now, supposedly, the administration is the family values administration, and yet they're tearing these families apart. | ||
| So, thank you for your courage to come up here and show the emotion that you feel towards your husband, who's been disappeared. | ||
| We don't know exactly where he is. | ||
| And I too never thought that this would happen in America. | ||
| I spent time in El Salvador during the 80s as a Jesuit. | ||
| I was there as a missionary, and they disappeared people there too, and you never found them again. | ||
| I never thought that something like that would happen in my own country, where masked people that worked for the government would come and abduct people off the street. | ||
| So, again, I want to thank you for your courage. | ||
| I also want you to know that we have two sheet metal workers right here in the union that came to support you. | ||
| They heard about your husband, and they're here. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Thank you for being here. | ||
| You're not alone. | ||
| We're with you. | ||
| Thank you, Juan. | ||
| We're now going to listen to Congressman Chewy Garcia. | ||
| Thank you, Chairman España. | ||
| Good afternoon. | ||
| Muy buenas startes, Jennifer. | ||
| First, I want to say that you are not alone. | ||
| Your family is not alone. | ||
| Maryland is with you, and people all over the country are with you. | ||
| I am here today because I want to help put an end to this travesty where people who are doing good by taking care of their families, as Kilmar was, was kidnapped and winds up in a heinous prison in Central America in El Salvador. | ||
| And the question here for all of us is: who will it happen to next? | ||
| And the press ought to be thinking: could it be one of them soon if they publish things that are true that are not satisfactory to this administration? | ||
| That is really the question because we are on a slippery slope. | ||
| We've seen someone taken from the street, and we've seen people in my district nabbed off the street as well and deported without any probable cause, without an arrest warrant, just randomly. | ||
| Without a doubt, there's racial, ethnic profiling going on. | ||
| We're here today because we care about the Constitution. | ||
| But as importantly, we're here because we believe in family reunification, and we want this nightmare to end, and we want to prevent further nightmares from happening. | ||
| That only happens when the Constitution is respected, when there is due process, and when you follow the law. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Está tarde, accompañamos a Jennifer, la mamá de Quilmar también para decile que no están solos que tienen amigos y aliados a travez de la nacion, que lo ocurido aquí este sequestro no 'dever repetirce a un que sea visto en muchas partes de la nacion. | |
| This una violación de la y de la constitución. | ||
| Es una diplomas, la crueldad de la administración Trump que este biernes hace vigente la proclamación la orden executiva que crea el registro, una de las medidas de la invocación de los enemigos extraños que invocaado este presidente por eso aque Frenarlo, pero por hoy estamos aquí, diciendo le queremos que esta familia se a reunida. | ||
| Gracias. | ||
| Thank you, Chui. | ||
| We're going to listen now to Congresswoman Veronica Escobar. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Chairman, for bringing us together and to Kilmer's wife and brother and mother. | |
| Our hearts are with you completely, and we are going to stay with you until he is home. | ||
| But I want to speak to the American people so that they understand why it's important that they stand with us. | ||
| The Trump administration and many of our Republican colleagues are working hard to dehumanize immigrants, to make Americans believe that immigrants are not worthy of due process, that they are not worthy of protections under the law, and that they are not worthy of a fair shot. | ||
| Nothing could be further from the truth. | ||
| And the minute that we as Americans allow this dehumanization of immigrants, it dehumanizes us as well. | ||
| And we are either going to stand for our shared humanity and for the law, for justice in our Constitution and what is right, or we all fail together. | ||
| And as my colleague, Congressman Castro, mentioned, this does not impact this lawlessness, this violation of the Constitution, this inhumanity, doesn't just apply to immigrants. | ||
| It doesn't just apply to people who are legally here. | ||
| We are seeing the administration target anyone who is brown or black and targeting them as though they are un-American or unworthy of American protections under the law. | ||
| So, just as this is happening to Kilmer, it will continue to happen to more and more people. | ||
| And you have to ask yourselves, Am I next? | ||
| Is my family next? | ||
| And so, we either stand together as a nation or we will fail together as a nation. | ||
| And really, one of the only reasons we know about this case and about similar cases is because there is family here with the courage to stand up against the injustices of this administration. | ||
| My question is: how many more, how many more innocent people have been targeted? | ||
| How many more innocent lives have been ruined? | ||
| How many more people do we not know about? | ||
| And how many more are to come? | ||
| And the Trump administration isn't going to tell us. | ||
| They're lying about it repeatedly. | ||
| We have to continue to demand transparency, demand answers, demand to see the evidence. | ||
| But we need more Americans to stand with us, not just in this room, not just in Washington, D.C., but across the country. | ||
| And again, the minute we allow the dehumanization of one group, that dehumanizes all of us. | ||
| Thank you, Veronica. | ||
| Jennifer, Doña Cecilia, Cesar, estamos comustedes, estamos aquí por que quremos que estar familia devede reunificada immediatamente. | ||
| Questions? | ||
|
unidentified
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Next week, the President of Isabad is coming to the USA. | |
| He's going to meet with President Donald Trump. | ||
| What would you like to hear from them after that meeting regarding his case in particular? | ||
| As I said earlier, I will be writing to President Bukele to formally ask for the release of Kilmer. | ||
| And we also want to know his condition. | ||
| So I would also be asking to see if myself and those that want to join me could travel to go visit him there. | ||
| But, you know, when he comes next week, I hope I have an answer before his visit here. | ||
| And if I don't, then I will ask him again. | ||
| Right here. | ||
| And Kilmer aquí está al syndicato alcual eltenenci de trabajadores de construcción del de constitución smart intelligente. | ||
| Elo es un hombre de trabajo, no tienes recon criminal. | ||
| Fue sequestrado practicamente y llevado una prisión en other countries in El Salvador. | ||
| And we condicion actualmente. | ||
| The presidente se confunde diariamente de todoras cosas, includiendo los aranseles. | ||
| But also aquí para defendera a familia, entendemos de que su una familia que mereces está unida los sijos de Jennifer y de Quilmer necesitan ser una familia de nuevo. | ||
| Y a actualmente no losón porque le el fue sequestrado por está menitración. | ||
| Next. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes. | |
| Can you talk a little bit more about your letter? | ||
| So in court filings, the Trump administration has said that they feel like they would have to intrigue or cajole El Salvador for Human's return. | ||
| Are you hoping that you're able to negotiate by yourself? | ||
| Look, we feel that we know that there are no charges against him. | ||
| There are no charges here and there are no charges in El Salvador. | ||
|
unidentified
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He has not been charged with a crime. | |
| And yet he sits in jail. | ||
| We believe fundamentally that that is illegal. | ||
|
unidentified
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Illegal here and illegal there. | |
| If he has no charges and he's being held in prison in El Salvador, at the very least, he should be released immediately there. | ||
| But we feel he should come back home to his family. | ||
| Next? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes. | |
| Yeah, can you comment on the agreement between the IRS and DHS to share taxpayer information on undocumented? | ||
| We will take off topic questions afterwards. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So nothing has yet made an impression on the Trump administration, right? | |
| They could have brought it back potentially. | ||
| That's the argument. | ||
| What makes you think this effort will make any difference at all? | ||
| I think that when you hear a mother speak about what is happening in her home with her children, because her husband and the father of her children is not there, I think that moves this nation. | ||
| And public sentiment in this nation, as Abraham Lincoln said, right in the middle of the Civil War, is everything. | ||
| And so I feel that Jennifer and Jennifer's stories could move mountains, not just bring them back home. | ||
| I think she could move mountains. | ||
| She's talking from her heart. | ||
| She's talking from her children's heart. | ||
| She's here with Kilmer's mom and brother. | ||
| This young man has had to take up the role of his brother to keep this family together. | ||
| We commend him for that. | ||
| I think this is an American story, a great story to be told. | ||
| I don't see how it cannot change anybody's heart. | ||
| If it doesn't, that person doesn't have a heart. | ||
|
unidentified
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ni una ley en el Salvador, y el estaba here con una persona que tenía de écho star aquí enonces la courtes sabe esto, no a sigero un bueno no vambla da serdo modo tampronto, lo biara nu écho mejor, pero ahora tien en la opportunidad de corregira y taerlo para trash y esos lo que estamos esciendo que dragana kilmer para tras para que estía aquí con su familia. | |
| Quilmar desete necesitas tar aquí con susicos con su esposa, consumamá yo quero que lo más pedo poderoso que vimos este estedía. | ||
| Temente fue las lagrimas de una madre y unasposa. | ||
| Eso quero que es lo que vaca cambiar a los corazón de manyos americanos. | ||
| Para ver como tan su fiendo lo lagente si incentido si in justicia. | ||
| Y por eso esperamos que tami en la courte tenga a un corazón y era las cosas correctas. | ||
| Hi, so you've already mentioned a few things, but is there anything else that you guys, as Democratic members of Congress, can do to pressure the administration or get answers for the family? | ||
| And then a quick follow-up: just that. | ||
| Have you made any attempts at this point to work with Republicans on this issue and get them to kind of join you here? | ||
| Well, there are three avenues that we are taking, not just for this particular case, but for all other cases, which is one in the courts. | ||
| And of course, this was already taken up by the Supreme Court. | ||
| And we're waiting at any moment for a decision on their part. | ||
| And CASA has been leading the legal fight. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Perhaps you want to say you'd like to say something about the court case? | |
| Sure. | ||
| Please. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Sure. | |
| I think many of you know. | ||
| Introduce yourself, please. | ||
| I'm a Frimpong. | ||
| I'm Casa's legal director. | ||
| And so, as just said, honestly, we are expecting a decision any moment now. | ||
| It could be today, tomorrow, right? | ||
| All filings, all evidence has been submitted to the Supreme Court. | ||
| And so we are waiting for a final decision as to whether or not they will order that Kilmer come back home or not. | ||
| I think, you know, again, many of you know the Trump administration's main argument right now is that they don't have the power to bring him home, right? | ||
| Their argument is that this is a Salvadoran national in a Salvadoran prison in the country of El Salvador, and so they don't have power over that. | ||
| But we know the truth, right? | ||
| Is that really what's happening is that these are U.S. detainees in the custody of the U.S. government, and the U.S. government is simply like renting space in that prison to hold Kilmer. | ||
| And so they can at any moment ask for Kilmer to come back, and there's been no indication whatsoever that they have made any attempt to try to bring him back. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I mean that's one avenue is the legal way. | |
| Legislative and budgetarily, we'll have a couple of cracks at that as we move forward in this session. | ||
| And then finally, we're going to organize the community. | ||
| So these are the three avenues that we're taking, legal, legislative, and budgetarily, and then organizing our community. | ||
| Last question, Rahim. | ||
|
unidentified
|
You expressed an interest in going down to El Salvador. | |
| Obviously, Congress is out the next two weeks. | ||
| You said that you want to have some diplomatic talks first, but what's your timeline for that? | ||
| What are you thinking about going down there? | ||
| Will there be a full Democratic television? | ||
| We will write to President Bukele immediately, and we will try to get a phone call with him and express an interest of going to El Salvador to visit Kilmer to ensure that he's healthy, he's safe, and sound as quickly as possible. | ||
|
unidentified
|
He's scheduled to be in Washington, I think, on the 15th. | |
| The 14th. | ||
| The 14th. | ||
| And if we don't get a response by then, then we'll ask him when he's here. |