Illinois Gov. Pritzker acts against El Salvador over Kilmar Abrego's detention [View all]

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Source: WTVO, WQRF-TV/Rockford

Posted: Apr 23, 2025 / 01:13 PM CDT
Updated: Apr 23, 2025 / 09:00 PM CDT


CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced that the state will take punitive actions against the country of El Salvador for holding Kilmar Abrego Garcia in custody. “The United States Constitution guarantees due process. We are witnessing Donald Trump erode our fundamental Constitutional rights in real time, and we must fight to restore the balance of power,” said Pritzker. “The State of Illinois will stand up for the Rule of Law and do everything in our power stop the Trump Administration from ripping apart our most basic rights.”

Garcia, an accused MS-13 gang member, was deported from Maryland to his home country in March, despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to El Salvador due to fear of persecution. A federal judge said Tuesday that the Trump administration is ignoring court orders, obstructing the legal process, and acting in “bad faith” by refusing to provide information about the steps they have taken, if any, to free Garcia from an El Salvador prison.

The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration nearly two weeks ago to facilitate Garcia’s return to the U.S. from a Salvadoran prison, rejecting the White House’s claim that it couldn’t retrieve him after mistakenly deporting him. Trump administration officials have pushed back, arguing that it is up to El Salvador, though the president of El Salvador has also said he lacks the power to return Abrego Garcia.

Pritzker has asked the Illinois State Board of Investment, the State Universities Retirement System, and the Teachers’ Retirement System to review any investments in companies controlled by El Salvador, with the purpose of withholding investments in those companies. The Governor is also directing the Illinois Department of Central Management Services to identify state contracts with companies that are controlled by El Salvador, with the purpose of stopping them.

Read more: https://www.mystateline.com/news/local-news/illinois-deportation-el-salvador/