Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose arrest and fight to stay in the U.S. has become a flashpoint in President Donald Trump ’s immigration crackdown, surrendered Monday morning to U.S. immigration authorities in Baltimore. He faces possible efforts by the Trump administration to deport him to Uganda.
The 30-year-old Salvadoran national was wrongfully deported in March to a notorious prison in his native El Salvador. He was returned to the U.S. in June, but only to face human smuggling charges that his lawyers call preposterous and vindictive.
The Trump administration has said it is trying to deport Abrego Garcia months before his trial is scheduled in Tennessee, alleging that the 30-year-old married father is a danger to the community and an MS-13 gang member. He denies the gang allegation, pleaded not guilty to smuggling charges and has asked a judge to dismiss the case on ground of vindictive prosecution. Immigration officials have said they plan to deport Abrego Garcia to Uganda after he declined an offer to be removed to Costa Rica in exchange for pleading guilty to the smuggling charges.
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Current and former FEMA staff sign letter of dissent
More than 180 current and former employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency published a letter Monday warning that debilitating cuts to the agency charged with handling federal disaster response risks a catastrophe like the one seen after Hurricane Katrina.
Addressed to the FEMA Review Council and Congress, the letter contains six “statements of opposition” to current policies at FEMA, including a burdensome expenditure approval policy implemented by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem which the signatories say reduces FEMA’s ability to perform its missions.
It also critiques a DHS decision to reassign some FEMA employees to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the failure to appoint a qualified FEMA administrator as stipulated by law, and cuts to mitigation programs, preparedness training and FEMA workforce.
About 140 staff members at the Environmental Protection Agency were placed on administrative leave last month for signing a similar statement.
Hegseth says arming National Guard troops in Washington is ‘common sense’
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is applauding the decision to arm National Guard troops deployed to fight crime in Washington.
“It’s just common sense to make sure they’re armed,” Hegseth said. He added that troops are therefore, “Capable of defending themselves and others.”
Some National Guard units patrolling the nation’s capital have started carrying firearms at Trump’s direction — a major escalation of his military deployment that makes good on a directive issued late last week by Hegseth.
DNC chair opens summer meeting with fiery call for Democrats to fight
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin is calling on his party to “fight like hell” as he welcomes Democrats from across the nation to the DNC’s summer meeting in Minneapolis.
In his welcome address Monday morning, Martin charged that President Trump is dismantling democracy and peoples’ lives.
“This is not politics as usual. This is authoritarianism. It’s fascism dressed in a red tie,” Martin said. “And all the Democrats throughout this country, we are the only thing standing in his way.”
Martin is focusing his ire on the Republican president, but he’s also confronting internal divisions in the DNC’s first meeting since he became party chair. His critics believe the party isn’t doing enough to push back against Trump.
“I get it. People are pissed off. I’m pissed off,” Martin said Monday morning. “We are still unified despite our differences.”
Vice President JD Vance argues cities should be thankful for federal crime-fighting efforts
Vance slammed Democratic governors who’ve criticized the Trump administration for using National Guard troops to fight crime in big cities, saying “we want people to welcome us, to ask us” for sending in the military.
“They’re angrier about the fact the president of the United States is offering to help them get their crime under control than they are about the fact that murderers are running roughshod over their cities and have been for decades,” Vance said of top Democrats.
He said Trump’s Washington crackdown meant people who would have been killed are now “living, breathing” and going on with their lives in the nation’s capital.
Trump signs an executive order to ban burning the American flag
Trump signed the order that charges the Department of Justice with investigating instances of flag burning. Trump said those who burn the United States flag would be charged with inciting a riot and receive one year in jail with no opportunity for early release.
Trump said burning an American flag “incites riots at levels we’ve never seen before.”
Trump’s advisers said the executive order “wouldn’t fall afoul of the First Amendment,” which protects the freedom of speech, but did not expand on what that meant.
The 1984 Supreme Court case Texas v. Johnson ruled flag burning constitutes “symbolic speech” that’s protected by the First Amendment.
Trump signs executive order requiring new training for National Guard troops
A White House aide told Trump the order would require the defense secretary to establish specialized units in the DC National Guard and National Guard units across the country that are trained and equipped to deal with “public order issues.”
Some critics of Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard troops across Washington, D.C., have argued that these troops aren’t trained in policing.
The executive order also tasks the U.S. attorney general with reviewing local police orders that are believed to impede law enforcement efforts in the city and take steps to undo them.
Trump says Biden pardons are ‘worthless’
He’s been complaining about former President Joe Biden’s use of an autopen to sign executive orders and pardons, suggesting without evidence that presidential power was hijacked under his predecessor.
Trump suggested that people pardoned by Biden — including some of Trump’s political enemies — could still be prosecuted.
“It looks like those pardons are worthless,” he said.
Trump said Biden’s pardons went to “very unpatriotic people, very evil people.”
Trump says Congress will give whatever is needed to spruce up Washington
Trump is vowing to improve Washington’s roads and medians and undertake a larger city beautification plan quickly and at little cost.
After saying last week that he’d ask Congress for “about $2 billion” in funding to improve Washington, the president declared, “Congress said they’ll give us whatever money is needed to fix up the capital.”
Trump claims his public safety policies are a political winner
Despite the backlash to his crackdown in D.C., Trump insisted his approach is popular. He compared it to debates over transgender athletes, another divisive issue he harnessed during last year’s election.
“This is another ‘men in women’s sports’ things,” he said.
“I think the Democrats better get smart,” Trump said. “Politically, I hope they don’t, but actually, in terms of love for the country, I hope they do, because it would be good to work together.”
Trump says he’s ‘not a dictator’
Responding to critics decrying his crackdown in Washington, Trump said, “A lot of people are saying, ‘Maybe we like a dictator.’”
“I’m not a dictator. I’m a man with great common sense,” Trump said.
He repeated threats to send National Guard troops into Chicago.
Trump starts Oval Office event by attacking the media
Although the topic for Trump’s event in the Oval Office was public safety, he started with a broadside against the media. He complained about unfair coverage and said there are “purposely negative stories.”
He also claimed reporters are happy with his law enforcement crackdown but “most of you won’t say that because you’re radical left.”
Trump said the media has lost its influence because he’s won elections despite negative coverage.
“Many of you are corrupt, and there’s nothing we can do about, but we keep winning.”
Trump claims ‘Purge or Revolution’ in South Korea ahead of meeting with new leader
President Trump greeted Lee Jae Myung, the new president of South Korea, by asserting a “Purge or Revolution” was taking place there and threatening to not do business with Seoul as he prepared to host the new leader at the White House later Monday.
It wasn’t immediately clear what Trump was referring to, but South Korea had been in a state of political turmoil for the last several months after its former leader, the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol, briefly imposed martial law last December which eventually led to his stunning ouster from office.
“WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA? Seems like a Purge or Revolution. We can’t have that and do business there,” Trump posted on social media Monday morning. “I am seeing the new President today at the White House. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!”
Yoon, who was elected to a five-year term in 2022, was considered more ideologically aligned with Trump and had even taken up golfing again after the U.S. president was reelected last November to try to forge a bond with him.
▶ Read more about Trump’s relationship with South Korea
Trump envoy says officials working ‘very, very hard’ on ending the Russia-Ukraine war
Special envoy Keith Kellogg was speaking in Kyiv on Monday about efforts to end the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine as a lack of progress fuels doubts about whether a peace settlement could be on the horizon.
Officials are “hoping to get to a position where, in the near term, we have, with a lack of a better term, security guarantees” that address Ukraine’s fears of another invasion by Russia in the future, Kellogg said.
“That’s a work in progress,” Kellogg said of the potential security guarantees after attending Ukraine’s annual National Prayer Breakfast along with politicians, business leaders and diplomats.
A week ago, President Trump said he’d set in motion arrangements for direct peace talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But Russian officials have signaled that such a summit won’t happen any time soon.
▶ Read more about the war between Russia and Ukraine
Trump targets cashless bail
The president plans to sign an executive order threatening to revoke federal funding from local and state governments that allow cashless bail, according to a White House official. The official requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter before a public announcement later in the morning.
Trump has been escalating his focus on public safety, particularly in Democratic cities such as Washington, where he’s deployed National Guard troops and federal agents over the objections of local officials.
— Chris Megerian
Here’s what’s on Trump’s schedule today
The president is scheduled to sign executive orders at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. One involves ending cashless bail, according to the White House Assistant Press Secretary. Another is designed to crack down on those who burn the American flag, which is an act protected by the First Amendment.
At noon, he’s scheduled to greet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. The two will then participate in a bilateral meeting and a lunch, where they’re expected to discuss trade and defense issues.
Trump to issue order on flag burning
President Trump will sign an executive order later Monday that’s meant to crack down on those who burn the American flag, which is protected by the First Amendment.
The order calls on Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute those who break laws “in ways that involve desecrating the flag,” according to a White House official.
Under the order, Bondi would also pursue litigation with the intent to potentially change what is allowed on flag burning under the First Amendment. The administration would also be allowed in some cases to deny or revoke visas to foreigners who participate in the act.
Trump has long demanded punishment for those who burn a U.S. flag, although the Supreme Court has ruled that doing so is a form of constitutionally protected free speech.
A court order pauses efforts to deport Abrego Garcia
The court order signed by Chief Judge George Russell III automatically pauses any effort by the Trump administration to immediately deport Abrego Garcia.
Any immigrant seeking review of their detention in a Maryland federal court is covered by the order, which blocks their removal from the U.S. until 4 p.m. on the second business day after their habeas corpus petition is filed. In June, the administration sued all of Maryland’s 15 federal judges to challenge the standard order.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says Abrego Garcia being processed for deportation
Abrego Garcia’s attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, says a lawsuit had been filed in federal district court in Maryland shortly after his detention asking for an order that he not be deported.
“I expect there’s going to be a status conference very promptly, and we’re going to ask for an interim order that he not be deported, pending his due process rights to contest deportation to any particular country,” he said.
Some National Guard units in Washington now carrying firearms in escalation of Trump deployment
This latest development makes good on a directive issued late last week by Trump’s defense secretary.
A Defense Department official who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly said some units on certain missions would be armed — some with handguns and others with rifles. The spokesperson said that all units with firearms have been trained and are operating under strict rules for use of force.
An Associated Press photographer on Sunday saw members of the South Carolina National Guard outside Union Station with holstered handguns.
A statement from the joint task force that has taken over policing in the nation’s capital said units began carrying their service weapons on Sunday and that the military’s rules say force should be used “only as a last resort and solely in response to an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm.” It said the force is committed to protecting “the safety and wellbeing” of Washington’s residents.
▶ Read more about the federal intervention in D.C.
— Jonathan J. Cooper, Leah Askarinam and Konstantin Toropin
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys filed a new federal lawsuit shortly after he surrendered
But the court documents weren’t publicly available. They filed it in the federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, where U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has been presiding over a string of hearings for the original case.
Who is Kilmar Abrego Garcia?
Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s story begins in his native El Salvador, but it’s become increasingly unclear where it will end.
A local gang, Barrio 18, began extorting his family for “rent money.” When he was 12, the gang threatened to take Abrego Garcia away until his father paid “all of the money that they wanted.”
Abrego Garcia eventually fled to the U.S. illegally around 2011, the year he turned 16, according to documents in his immigration case. He found work in construction.
In March 2019, Abrego Garcia went to a Home Depot seeking work as a laborer when he and three other men were detained by local police, court records say. They were suspected of being in MS-13 based on tattoos and clothing, according to the records.
▶ Read more about Abrego Garcia’s background
The background on Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s case
Abrego Garcia became a flash point in Trump’s immigration agenda after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, despite a judge’s earlier determination that he faced a “well-founded fear” of violence there. Facing a court order, the Trump administration brought him back to the United States in June, only to detain him on human smuggling charges.
He pleaded not guilty and asked the judge to dismiss the case, claiming that it is an attempt to punish him for challenging his deportation to El Salvador. The latest filing came as a supplement to that motion to dismiss, stating that the threat to deport him to Uganda is more proof that the prosecution is vindictive.
The smuggling charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee for speeding. There were nine passengers in the car, and officers discussed among themselves their suspicions of smuggling. Abrego Garcia was allowed to continue driving with only a warning.
Abrego Garcia has an American wife and children and has lived in Maryland for years. Although he was deemed eligible for pretrial release last month, he remained in jail at the request of his attorneys, who feared the Republican administration could try to immediately deport him again if he were freed.
On Friday, Abrego Garcia returned to his family in Maryland. Video released by advocates of the reunion showed a room decorated with streamers, flowers and signs. He embraced loved ones and thanked them “for everything.”
▶ Read more about Kilmar Abrego Garcia
The Associated Press
