A Democratic congresswoman from Colorado is the latest lawmaker to announce she will travel to El Salvador to advocate for the release of deported illegal migrant Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia.

Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., said late Friday she would jet to the South American country following Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s, D-Md., highly publicized visit there this week when he met with Abrego Garcia, who was deported to the country’s “Terrorism Confinement Center” (CECOT) megaprison with other suspected illegal migrant gang members last month.

“A legal U.S. resident has had his due process rights ripped away and is now being held indefinitely in a foreign prison,” Dexter said in a statement. 

“This is not just one family’s nightmare; it is a constitutional crisis that should outrage every single one of us. I will travel to El Salvador to confront this crisis head on. Our constitutional rights are on the line.”   

FEDERAL JUDGE HAMMERS DOJ ON WHEREABOUTS OF ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER FOLLOWING SCOTUS ORDER

The case has drawn a wedge between Democrats and Republicans. 

The Trump administration argues Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member who is suspected of human trafficking and has a violent history of abusing his wife.

A 2022 Homeland Security Investigations report identified Garcia as a member of MS-13 and a suspected human trafficker. A 2021 domestic violence filing, written by his wife, Jennifer Vasquez, claimed, “I have multiple photos/videos of how violent he can be and all the bruises he [has] left me.”

Democrats say he is a hard-working Maryland resident who has had his due process rights stripped away after being sent to the notorious prison. 

The Supreme Court acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was subject to a 2019 withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador, and that the removal to El Salvador was “therefore illegal.” The Court stressed that the government must facilitate his release from custody in El Salvador and treat his case as if he were never deported.

WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BLUNTLY SHOWS WHERE PARTIES STAND ON IMMIGRATION AMID ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION

Trump administration officials acknowledged in court that his deportation had been an administrative error, although now some top Trump officials say he was correctly removed and contend he’s a member of the notorious MS-13 gang. 

One immigration judge in 2019 found that Garcia had not sufficiently refuted evidence of MS-13 affiliation and was thus removable to anywhere other than El Salvador because of a threat from a rival gang. This is called a withholding order.

On Friday, Trump released an image of Abrego Garcia’s hand showing purported MS-13 gang tattoos. 

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller on Monday said that two courts found Abrego Garcia to be an MS-13 gang member, and he was deported after Trump declared the violent gang a terrorist organization. 

Miller said that when Trump declared MS-13 a terrorist organization, Abrego Garcia was no longer eligible for any form of immigration relief in the United States.

Critics, including Republicans and Trump allies, have questioned why Van Hollen would travel abroad to advocate for someone with alleged gang ties and a record of domestic abuse while remaining silent on victims like Rachel Morin, a Maryland woman murdered by an illegal immigrant in 2023.

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The White House released a split-screen image to underscore what it says is the stark contrast between where Republicans and Democrats stand on illegal immigration.

One image featured distraught Angel Mom Patty Morin, mother of Rael Morin, being comforted by President Trump in the Oval Office. The other image showed Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., sitting and talking with Abrego Garcia, 29, in El Salvador.

“We are not the same,” the White House captioned the image while tagging Van Hollen.

Fox News’ Greg Wehner, Kerri Urbahn and Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

Due to a security law passed 20 years ago, many Americans are now required to update their driver’s license or identification cards to become REAL ID-compliant — or they won’t be able to board U.S. flights.

With the deadline fast approaching on May 7, some conservatives have called on President Donald Trump to do away with the inconvenient requirement that they say violates civil liberties. 

On May 7, federal agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), will no longer accept driver’s licenses or ID cards that do not have a star in one of the upper corners to represent their REAL ID verification. To become REAL ID-verified, applicants have to provide additional verifying information like Social Security numbers. 

Flyers who don’t have REAL ID verification on their license should plan to use a passport, a passport card, a permanent resident card, military ID or an enhanced driver’s license offered by some states.  

‘MASS SURVEILLANCE’: CONSERVATIVES SOUND ALARM OVER TRUMP ADMIN’S REAL ID ROLLOUT

The TSA says it will begin “phased enforcement” on May 7, but it’s unclear whether that means turning away travelers without proper documentation or subjecting them to additional security screening.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in an FAQ on its website that travelers without “a REAL ID-compliant license or acceptable alternative beginning May 7, 2025, will not be permitted through the security checkpoint.”

In a federal rule established this year, the TSA says its “phased approach” could last two years, with the potential to issue warnings to people without REAL ID verification. 

Access to other federal facilities and nuclear power plants will also require a REAL ID, according to DHS. 

Drivers who have recently renewed their driver’s license may already have a REAL ID. Check for the star in the upper right or left corner. Otherwise, check with your local Department of Motor Vehicles office on how to get a REAL ID or make an appointment to get a new license. 

You’ll need documentation to show your full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number and lawful status, as well as two proofs of address. If you don’t have your Social Security card, you can provide a W-2 or pay stub with your name and Social Security number on it. 

NO ‘REAL ID’ APPOINTMENTS OPEN IN NEW JERSEY AS RESIDENTS SOUND OFF: ‘GET WITH THE TIMES, NJ’

Congress passed and President George W. Bush signed the REAL ID Act in 2005 after the 9/11 Commission warned that it was too easy for bad actors to obtain a driver’s license.

Implementation of the law has been marred by delays in getting all 50 states and U.S. territories to implement the new requirements and start issuing advanced identification, which the federal government estimated would cost $11 billion in 2007. 

The 2020 deadline was pushed back multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

TSA senior official Adam Stahl said recently in an announcement that REAL ID “bolsters safety by making fraudulent IDs harder to forge, thwarting criminals and terrorists.”

Some on the right have cried foul, and questioned why, if previous administrations have delayed the implementation, it is necessary now. 

When Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted a video reminding Americans of the May 7 deadline, former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin responded: “Or what?? Evidently, existing ID requirements for American citizens just aren’t adequate now, so Big Brother is forcing us through more hoops for the ‘right’ to travel within our own country.”

Palin continued: “Other administrations delayed this newfangled, burdensome REAL ID requirement. Are you curious why its implementation is imperative now?? And who came up with this?”

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., argued in an X post, “As long as the pilot’s door is locked and no one has weapons, why do you care that someone who flies has government permission? REAL ID provides no benefit, yet presents a serious risk to freedom. If a person can’t be trusted to fly without weapons, why are they roaming free?”

Massie took shots at Trump in a follow-up post: “REAL ID is a 2005 George Bush-era Patriot Act overreach that went completely unenforced until Trump got into office. Let me guess: he’s playing 4D chess and I should just go along with it?”

Trump ally Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., rebuked REAL ID critics in his own public statement. 

“The REAL ID Act was passed way back in 2005, 20 years ago!!!! It’s about time everyone stop dragging their feet. Quit scrolling through social media, quit complaining, get your info together, and get down to the DMV to get your REAL ID,” Alford said Wednesday. 

The White House could not immediately be reached for comment on the criticisms of REAL ID. 

Fox News’ Liz Elkind contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX— Pro-life activist Mark Houck, who sued the Justice Department over his arrest and prosecution under the Biden administration, said his family has been blocked from settling their lawsuit by an “activist” federal judge. 

Houck filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department last year, seeking restitution for what he called “a faulty investigation” and “excessive force” after a SWAT team of around 25 people arrested him in front of his children.

Now, Houck is appealing the judge’s decision to the Third District Court and calling on the Trump administration to follow through on ending the weaponization of the DOJ against pro-lifers such as him once and for all. He discusses the case with his wife and 40 Days for Life founder Shawn Carney in a new video shared with Fox News Digital. 

“You live in fear of it happening again, not only to yourselves but to others, and you want to know that this administration, which rode this message to the White House, is willing to step in,” Houck said in the video, adding, “and they’re doing it for other organizations, they’re doing it in the DOGE, they’re doing it with all the things, they’re cleaning house.” 

PRO-LIFE JOURNALIST ASSAULTED ON STREET ASSIGNS BLAME TO DEMOCRATIC RHETORIC

In an interview with Fox News Digital, 40 Days for Life President Shawn Carney said: “I just think, Democratic or Republican, we’re tired of activist judges on both sides of the political aisle.” 

“Nobody likes it – and just, this guy’s a victim,” Carney said, adding that the Justice Department “needs to fix this.”

News of the appeal, which is slated to be filed by 40 Days for Life on behalf of Houck, was shared exclusively with Fox News Digital. The group has already filed a Notice to Appeal to the courts. 

At issue are the settlement negotiations that 40 Days for Life entered into with the Justice Department in early 2025, following Trump’s inauguration.

U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond, a Bush appointee, abruptly issued a motion to dismiss the case last month, effectively ending the negotiations that had been playing out between Houck and the Trump-led Justice Department.

FEDERAL JUDGES IN NEW YORK AND TEXAS BLOCK TRUMP DEPORTATIONS AFTER SCOTUS RULING

It appears that the motion to dismiss the case had originally been filed by the Biden-led Justice Department, which charged Houck in 2021 for allegedly violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances, or FACE Act. 

In the video, Carney and Houck discussed the judge’s decision as well as changes in the law enforcement community more broadly, and what they hope to be new priorities of the second Trump administration.

Houck said his family is disappointed by the judge’s actions and added that “it reflects poorly against the Trump administration.”

Speaking with Fox News Digital, Carney lamented the dismissal of their lawsuit by Diamond, whom he called an “activist” judge and accused of political bias. Nevertheless, he expressed confidence that the Trump administration would make it right. 

PENNSYLVANIA JURY ACQUITS PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST MARK HOUCK ON CHARGES OF OBSTRUCTING ABORTION CLINIC ACCESS

“We are appealing the decision of the judge to continue the lawsuit against the DOJ,” Carney said. “And of course, if we could get back on track with that, the idea is that then we would be able to settle with DOJ, since they want to settle.”

“We have a very strong appeal,” he said of their yet-to-be-filed brief. “We’re very confident about the appeal.”

The FBI and Department of Justice did not respond to requests for comment. 

Houck, a longtime volunteer with 40 Days for Life, was arrested in 2021 for his actions outside a Planned Parenthood clinic, which prosecutors said violated the so-called Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act.

He was acquitted by a Philadelphia jury, but could have faced up to eleven years in prison if convicted.

Both his high-profile arrest at home, and the lengthy prison sentence he could have faced if convicted, prompted outrage from pro-life groups, including 40 Days for Life, where Houck has volunteered since 2007. 

SUPREME COURT FREEZES ORDER TO RETURN MAN FROM EL SALVADOR PRISON

In 2023, after Houck’s acquittal, 40 Days for Life joined Houck in suing the Justice Department over the ordeal, accusing law enforcement personnel of conducting a “faulty investigation” against him, and accusing law enforcement of using “excessive force” in the FBI raid of his family home.

Carney has weighed in on the topic before, saying in a post on X this year that 40 Days for Life was “targeted constantly by the Biden DOJ.” 

“With 1,000,000 peaceful volunteers we will always fight for free speech for pro-life and pro-abortion Americans alike. God bless Trump and Vance for backing us up,” said Carney. 

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., has been crisscrossing the country the past couple of months, taking a lead in amplifying the Democratic Party’s message in resisting President Donald Trump’s aggressive and controversial actions in overturning long-standing government policy and slashing the federal workforce.

But Khanna, the California Democrat who’s in his fifth term in the House and who likely harbors national ambitions in 2028, is not only turning up the volume in his broadsides against Trump and Vice President JD Vance, Trump’s heir apparent, but also against his own party.

“We have to have a whole rebrand of the Democratic Party with a coherent platform and a future-oriented platform, and many leaders need to do that. New leaders, not the old guard. And I hope to be part of that,” Khanna said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

DEMOCRATS’ VICE CHAIR IGNITES CIVIL WAR, TARGETING ‘ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL’ INCUMBENTS IN PRIMARIES

When asked if party leaders need to be more vocal in pushing back against the Trump administration, Khanna quickly said yes.

“We need more from our leadership. And you know, if you’re not willing to speak up about someone being snatched away from their home and deported without due process, you probably shouldn’t be in elective office as a Democrat right now,” he said. “We need Democrats speaking out, not just on the economy. We need them speaking out on civil liberties, on the rights of immigrants and on the rights of universities.”

DEM RISING STAR EYES VANCE AS KEY LONG-TERM THREAT: ‘NEEDS TO BE DEFEATED’

But Khanna also praised the recent record-breaking marathon Senate floor speech by Sen. Cory Booker D-N.J., and the large rallies across the country being co-headlined by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

The Democratic Party is currently in the political wilderness, following last November’s election setbacks, when Republicans won back control of the White House and the Senate and defended their fragile House majority. Republicans also made gains among Black and Hispanic voters, as well as younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party’s base.

Democrats have become increasingly angry and very energized in response to Trump’s moves. That anger is directed not only at Trump and Republicans, but also at fellow Democrats. Many in the party’s base feel their leaders in Congress haven’t been effective or vocal enough in pushing back against the president.

BERNIE SANDERS, AOC AND OTHER ANTI-TRUMP PROGRESSIVES HAUL IN BIG BUCKS FOR 2026 MIDTERMS

And the energy has been evident at town halls this winter and early spring held by both Democratic and Republican members of Congress.

National polls conducted in February by Quinnipiac University, and last month by CNN and by NBC News, indicated the favorable ratings for the Democratic Party sinking to all-time lows.

And a Gallup poll released on Thursday spotlighted that confidence in the Democratic Party’s congressional leadership has sunk to an all-time low.

Looking ahead to next year’s midterm elections, when House Democrats aim to topple the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the House, Khanna said he will continue his brisk pace on the campaign trail.

“I’m already going out to more red districts. We did three red districts in California. I’m headed out to Pennsylvania. Was invited to go out to Nebraska, to Nevada, down south to South Carolina,” he said. “So we will be campaigning in red districts. Thousands of people are showing up. I’m very, very confident that we’re going to succeed.”

This past week, Khanna trained his verbal fire on Vance as he delivered two high-profile speeches in the vice president’s home state of Ohio on Monday and on Tuesday at Yale Law School, where both politicians earned their legal degrees.

In his interview with Fox News Digital in New Haven, Connecticut, ahead of the Yale speech, Khanna was asked if his attacks on Vance were an early 2028 positioning move.

Khanna responded that “what I’m doing is providing an intellectual foundation for the Democratic Party.”

Tax season is done. 

And this year, Congressional Republicans converted tax season to “sales” season. Republicans and President Donald Trump are pushing to approve a bill to reauthorize his 2017 tax cut package. Otherwise, those taxes expire later this year.

“We absolutely have to make the tax cuts permanent,” said Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., on FOX Business.

“We’ve got to get the renewal of the President’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. That’s absolutely essential,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., on FOX Business.

Rates for nearly every American spike if Congress doesn’t act within the next few months.

CONFIDENCE IN DEMOCRATS HITS ALL TIME LOW IN NEW POLL

“We are trying to avoid tax increases on the most vulnerable populations in our country,” said Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee which determines tax policy. “I am trying to avoid a recession.”

If Congress stumbles, the non-partisan Tax Foundation estimates that a married couple with two children – earning $165,000 a year – is slapped with an extra $2,400 in taxes. A single parent with no kids making $75,000 annually could see a $1,700 upcharge on their tax bill. A single parent with two children bringing home $52,000 a year gets slapped with an additional $1,400 in taxes a year.

“Pretty significant. That’s an extra mortgage payment or extra rent payment,” said Daniel Bunn of the non-partisan Tax Foundation. “People have been kind of used to living with the policies that are currently in law for almost eight years now. And the shift back to the policy that was prior to the 2017 tax cuts would be a dramatic tax increase for many.”

But technically, Republicans aren’t cutting taxes.

“As simple as I can make this bill. It is about keeping tax rates the same,” said Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, on Fox.

Congress had to write the 2017 tax reduction bill in a way so that the reductions would expire this year. That was for accounting purposes. Congress didn’t have to count the tax cuts against the deficit thanks to some tricky number-crunching mechanisms – so long as they expired within a multi-year window. But the consequence was that taxes could climb if lawmakers failed to renew the old reductions.

“It sunsets and so you just automatically go back to the tax levels prior to 2017,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

A recent Fox News poll found that 45% of those surveyed – and 44% of independents believe the rich don’t pay enough taxes.

Democrats hope to turn outrage about the perceived tax disparity against Trump.

“He wants his billionaire buddies to get an even bigger tax break. Is that disgraceful?” asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., at a rally in New York.

“Disgrace!” shouted someone in the crowd.

“Disgraceful! Disgraceful!” followed up Schumer.

Some Republicans are now exploring raising rates on the wealthy or corporations. There’s been chatter on Capitol Hill and in the administration about exploring an additional set of tax brackets.

“I don’t believe the president has made a determination on whether he supports it or not,” said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.

“We’re going to see where the President is” on this, said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent while traveling in Argentina. “Everything is on the table.”

A Treasury spokesperson then clarified Bessent’s remarks.

“What’s off the table is a $4.4 trillion tax increase on the American people,” said the spokesperson. “Additionally, corporate tax cuts will set off a manufacturing boom and rapidly grow the U.S. economy again.”

Top Congressional GOP leaders dismissed the idea.

“I’m not a big fan of doing that,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson on Fox. “I mean we’re the Republican party and we’re for tax reduction for everyone.”

FEDERAL JUDGE TEMPORARILY RESTRICTS DOGE ACCESS TO PERSONALIZED SOCIAL SECURITY DATA

“I don’t support that initiative,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., on FOX Business, before adding “everything’s on the table.”

But if you’re President Donald Trump and the GOP, consider the politics of creating a new corporate tax rate or hiking taxes on the well-to-do. 

The president has expanded the GOP base. Republicans are no longer the party of the “wealthy.” Manual laborers, shop and storekeepers and small business persons now comprise Trump’s GOP. So maintaining these tax cuts helps with that working-class core. Raising taxes on the wealthy would help Republicans pay for the tax cuts and reduce the hit on the deficit. And it would shield Republicans from the Democrats’ argument that the tax cuts are for the rich.

Congress is now in the middle of a two-week recess for Passover and Easter. GOP lawmakers and staff are working behind the scenes to actually write the bill. No one knows exactly what will be in the bill. Trump promised no taxes on tips for food service workers. There is also talk of no taxes on overtime. 

WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BLUNTLY SHOWS WHERE PARTIES STAND ON IMMIGRATION AMID ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION

Republicans from high-tax states like New York and Pennsylvania want to see a reduction of “SALT.” That’s where taxpayers can write off “state and local taxes.” This provision is crucial to secure the support of Republicans like Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. But including the SALT reduction also increases the deficit.

So what will the bill look like?

“Minor adjustments within that are naturally on the table,” said Rounds. “The key though, [is] 218 in the House and 51 in the Senate.”

In other words, it’s about the math. Republicans need to develop the right legislative brew which commands just the right amount of votes in both chambers to pass. That could mean including certain provisions – or dumping others. It’s challenging. Especially with the slim House majority.

“There were trade-offs and offsets within that bill that many people are dissatisfied with,” said Bunn of the 2017 bill. “And it’s not clear how the package is going to come together with those various trade-offs.”

Johnson wants the bill complete by Memorial Day. Republicans know this enterprise can’t drag on too late into the year. Taxpayers would see a tax increase – even if it’s temporary – if working out the bill stretches into the fall when the IRS begins to prepare for the next tax season.

It’s also thought that finishing this sooner rather than later would provide some stability to the volatile stock markets. Establishing tax policy for next year would calm anxieties about the nation’s economic outlook.

“The big, beautiful bill,” Trump calls it, adding he wants the legislation done “soon.”

And that’s why tax season is now sales season. Both to the lawmakers. And to the public.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling early Saturday morning blocking, at least for now, the deportations of any Venezuelans held in northern Texas under an 18th century wartime law.

The justices instructed the Trump administration not to remove Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet Detention Center “until further order of this court.”

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the majority opinion.

ACLU APPEALS TO SUPREME COURT TO STOP VENEZUELAN DEPORTATIONS; BOASBERG HOLDS EMERGENCY HEARING FRIDAY NIGHT

The court’s ruling comes after an emergency appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union arguing that federal immigration authorities appeared to be working to resume the removal of migrants from the U.S. under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

Two federal judges earlier declined to step in and the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has not made any decision.

DEMOCRAT SENATOR VAN HOLLEN MEETS, SHAKES HANDS WITH ABREGO GARCIA

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The Alien Enemies Act has only been invoked three previous times in U.S. history, with the most recent being during World War II to hold Japanese-American civilians in internment camps.

The Trump administration claims the act gave them the authority to swiftly remove immigrants they accuse of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang, regardless of their immigration status.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., says the margaritas were fake. The outrage, he says, is real.

Returning from a highly publicized trip to El Salvador to meet with deported illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Van Hollen addressed reporters Thursday after landing at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. He attempted to set the record straight on what’s now being dubbed “margarita-gate,” a viral photo posted by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele that appeared to show the senator and Garcia sitting casually at a table with two salt-rimmed drinks.

“Let me just be very clear,” Van Hollen said. “Neither of us touched the drinks that were in front of us. And if you want to play a little Sherlock Holmes, I’ll tell you how you can know that. … If you sip out of one of those glasses, some of whatever it was — salt or sugar — would disappear. You would see a gap. There’s no gap.

“Nobody drank any margaritas or sugar water or whatever it is.”

KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA SUSPECTED OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN REPORT OBTAINED BY FOX NEWS

Van Hollen claimed the glasses were placed after the meeting began as a staged photo-op, adding that earlier footage shows the table without drinks. Van Hollen accused both El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and the Trump administration of trying to distract from what he described as a constitutional crisis.

“This is a lesson into the lengths that President Bukele will do to deceive people,” Van Hollen said. “And it also shows the lengths that the Trump administration and the president will go to, because when he was asked by a reporter about this, he just went along for the ride.”

Trump had his own take, posting on Truth Social Friday, “Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland looked like a fool yesterday standing in El Salvador begging for attention from the Fake News Media, or anyone. GRANDSTANDER!!!”

The controversy stems from the case of Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran national deported from Maryland last month and placed in the country’s notorious CECOT prison. 

WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BLUNTLY SHOWS WHERE PARTIES STAND ON IMMIGRATION AMID ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION

Federal officials have called the deportation an “administrative error” in court. Van Hollen and other Democrats have since argued it violated Garcia’s constitutional right to due process.

But the Trump administration has pushed back, pointing to Garcia’s alleged domestic abuse, gang ties and suspected involvement in human trafficking. 

A 2022 Homeland Security Investigations report identified Garcia as a member of MS-13 and a suspected human trafficker. A 2021 domestic violence filing, written by his wife, Jennifer Vasquez, claimed, “I have multiple photos/videos of how violent he can be and all the bruises he [has] left me.”

Despite these reports, Van Hollen insists no evidence has been presented in court and that the removal was unlawful. He cited rulings by a federal district court and the U.S. Supreme Court ordering Garcia’s return.

“The government in this case, the Trump administration, is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process,” Van Hollen said, quoting a recent Fourth Circuit decision. “That is the foundation of our constitutional order.”

He added that Judge Paula Xinis, the federal judge who first reviewed the case, found the administration “offered no evidence linking Abrego Garcia to MS-13 or any terrorist activity.”

Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador this week after the Salvadoran government initially denied him access to Garcia. After press coverage, he said, officials arranged a meeting at a hotel, which was filmed. He said Salvadoran soldiers had previously stopped him from approaching the prison and that he was surprised by the last-minute permission to meet.

He also revealed that the U.S. had committed $15 million to El Salvador to support detention operations and said over $4 million had already been paid. Van Hollen claimed this funding was unauthorized and pledged to oppose future appropriations.

“I won’t support the use of one penny of taxpayer dollars to keep Abrego Garcia illegally detained in El Salvador,” he said.

Critics, including Republicans and Trump allies, have questioned why Van Hollen would travel abroad to advocate for someone with alleged gang ties and a record of domestic abuse while remaining silent on victims like Rachel Morin, a Maryland woman murdered by an illegal immigrant in 2023.

The White House drew a sharp contrast, posting side-by-side photos of Trump meeting with Morin’s mother and Van Hollen meeting with Abrego Garcia. The caption: “We are not the same.”

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Asked about the comparison, Van Hollen said his “heart breaks” for Morin’s family but defended his actions as grounded in the Constitution.

“The reason we have courts of law is to punish the guilty, but also to make sure that those who have not committed crimes are not found guilty and arbitrarily detained,” he said.

Fox News’ Rachel Wolf, David Spunt, Greg Norman, Greg Wehner, and Bill Mears contributed to this report.

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.

Here’s what’s happening…

-Gabbard announces RFK files released months after Trump’s order: ‘Light on the truth’

-Top Dem asks Noem how TSA will prevent ‘major disruptions’ as many travelers still lack REAL ID

-Biden’s vax-focused COVID-19 website obliterated by White House, replaced with ‘true origins’ virus guide

The White House released a splitscreen image overnight to underscore the stark contrast between where Republicans and Democrats stand on illegal immigration.

One image featured distraught Angel Mom Patty Morin being comforted by President Trump in the Oval Office. Morin’s daughter, Rachel Morin, was savagely beaten, raped and killed in Maryland by an illegal migrant from El Salvador in 2023. 

The other image showed Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., sitting and talking with deported illegal alien Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, in El Salvador…Read more

HOMELAND SECURITY REPORT: Kilmar Abrego Garcia suspected of human, labor trafficking in Homeland Security report

‘LOOKED LIKE A FOOL’: Trump calls Sen. Van Hollen a ‘fool’ after meeting with deported MS-13 suspect in El Salvador

POLL POSITION: How Trump’s approval rating compares to his presidential predecessors

PUT THAT ON HOLD: Federal judge bucks Trump admin, delays dismissal of of MS-13 leader’s case

CROWN OF THORNS: LGBTQ Christians crusade against Trump’s religiously ‘hostile’ policies during Holy Week

‘BIG HONOR’: Trump announces a conservative media star, a GOP governor, and others for Homeland Security Advisory Council

CENTURY-OLD LAW: When did the US stop keeping up with the Joneses? The maritime law at the crux of US shipbuilding

‘YOU WANT PEOPLE TO BUY’: Trump says US ‘talking to China end may be in sight amid tariff hikes

‘NEVER ALONE’: Huckabee visits iconic holy site in Israel, delivers Trump’s prayer for peace

HAMAS CASH CRISIS: Hamas terror group reportedly buckling under financial strain amid Israeli military gains and growing unrest

‘UNACCEPTABLE’: Chinese firm aiding Houthi attacks on US vessels, as airstrikes kill 74

HOLY WEEK OUTREACH: Pope Francis visits Rome prison during Holy Week

‘MOVE ON’: Rubio says US ready to ‘move on’ within days if no progress on Russia-Ukraine peace deal

DEMOCRATS IN DISARRAY: Confidence in Congressional Democrats hits all time low in new poll

PINK ALERT: Top GOP senator calls out Code Pink, The People’s Forum allegedly pushing CCP propaganda in US

UNMASKED: Anti-Israel agitator charged in violent hate crime attack on two Jewish college students

GLOVES ARE OFF: Top GOP lawmaker, Hochul trade barbs amid speculation Trump ally is jumping in gubernatorial race

‘SAFER TODAY’: ICE arrests over 200 illegal aliens in New York City’s ‘most crime-infested neighborhoods’

GATHERING INFO: ICE and DOGE seek sensitive data in crackdown on illegal immigration, waste: report

UNHEALTHY: HHS probing hospital over firing of nurse who blew whistle on minors getting gender treatments

‘WIDE FISSURE’: Federal judge temporarily restricts DOGE access to personalized Social Security data

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

FIRST ON FOX: Days of highly publicized departures at the Pentagon appear to have come from weeks – if not months – of simmering tensions and factional infighting, Fox News Digital can reveal. 

According to multiple defense officials, the three employees put on leave this week were never told what they were accused of leaking, were not read their rights and were given no guidance on who they could or couldn’t speak to. They were also not asked to turn over their cellphones as part of the leak probe.

At least one of the former employees is consulting with legal counsel.

Top aides to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were placed on leave and escorted out of the building this week as the Pentagon probes unauthorized leaks: senior adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg.

On Friday evening, those three employees were fired, two defense officials confirmed to Fox News Digital, along with chief of staff Joe Kasper. 

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Another press aide, John Ullyot, parted ways with the Pentagon because he did not want to be second-in-command of the communications shop. 

Officials denied that the three men were placed on leave because of their foreign policy views and said they saw no connection to their positions on Iran and Israel – even as reports surfaced that President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the Pentagon would not intervene if Israel attacked Iran.

Selnick was focused on operations, administration and personnel matters; Carroll was focused largely on acquisitions; and Caldwell advised mostly on the Europe portfolio. 

But the trio were united, according to one defense official with knowledge of the situation, in the fact that Kasper had a “deep vendetta” against them. Kasper issued a memo in late March directing the Pentagon to investigate unauthorized disclosures to reporters and to go so far as using lie detector tests if necessary. 

The three had raised concerns to Hegseth about Kasper’s leadership, and Kasper believed they were trying to get him fired, according to the official. 

Those tensions had boiled into “shouting matches in the front office,” the official said. 

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Another Pentagon official disputed those claims and insisted that any accusation the leave had to do with anything other than the unauthorized leak investigation was “false.” 

“This is not about interpersonal conflict,” that official said. “There is evidence of leaking. This is about unauthorized disclosures, up to and including classified information.” 

Legal experts say the employees don’t need to be notified of what they’re accused of doing until the investigation is concluded.

“Being placed on paid leave is not considered a disciplinary decision. It’s considered a preliminary step to conduct an investigation, so if they think they’re being railroaded or hosed, they’ll have some due process opportunity to respond when there’s a formal decision,” said Sean Timmons, a legal expert in military and employment law. 

“They’ve been humiliated in the media to some extent. However, this happens every day in the federal government. Generally speaking, what’s happened so far is not necessarily considered discipline. It’s just considered a security protocol step to suspend their authorization, suspend their access to their emails, and a full, thorough independent investigation can be conducted.”

The three aides are civilian political appointees, meaning they could be fired at-will regardless of the investigation. But if they are found to have engaged in unauthorized leaking, they could have their security clearances yanked away.

“There are very few protections when it comes to political appointees versus career civilian staff,” said Libby Jamison, an attorney who specializes in military law. “For appointees, there is very broad discretion to be placed on administrative leave or reassigned.” 

If employees are accused of leaking, a report is sent to the Defense Information System for Security, and then there is an independent review of their eligibility for access to sensitive information.

“They’ll get a chance, potentially, to try to keep their clearance and show that they didn’t violate any security clearance protocols when it comes to handling sensitive information,” said Timmons. “If it is found they were leaking information in violation of the rules, and then there’s a guideline violation for personal misconduct and for breaching of sensitive information. So they could be possibly criminally prosecuted and certainly terminated from their employment and have their clearance stripped and revoked.”

Or, if the independent officer does not find sufficient evidence to tie them to the leaks, they could return to their positions and maintain clearances. 

Ullyot, meanwhile, said that he had made clear to Hegseth from the beginning that he was “not interested in being number two to anyone in public affairs.”

Ullyot ran the public affairs office on an acting basis at the start of the administration, leading a memo that yanked back workspaces for legacy media outlets and reassigned them to conservative networks. Ullyot also took a jab at former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, saying his “corpulence” set a bad example for Pentagon fitness standards. 

But as his temporary chief role came to a close and Sean Parnell took the Pentagon chief spokesperson job, Ullyot said he and Hegseth “could not come to an agreement on another good fit for me at DOD. So I informed him today that I will be leaving at the end of this week.”

Ullyot said he remains one of Hegseth’s “strongest supporters.” 

The office of the secretary of defense and the three aides who were placed on leave this week either declined to comment or could not be reached for this story. 

The American Civil Liberties Union appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, asking for an emergency injunction against the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan nationals held in Texas back to South America under the rarely used Alien Enemies Act. 

The Supreme Court previously ruled there are restrictions on how the government can use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, including that those targeted under it are entitled to a hearing before being deported. 

Hours before appealing to the Supreme Court on Friday, the ACLU had asked two federal judges for an injunction on the deportations. 

One of the judges, James E. Boasberg, scheduled a Friday evening hearing over the request. 

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Boasberg, who originally ruled on the Alien Enemies Act, previously found probable cause that the Trump administration committed criminal contempt in disobeying his ruling on the deportations. 

The Supreme Court then ruled that only judges in the areas from where migrants are set to be deported have jurisdiction over their cases. 

Boasberg is in Washington, D.C. 

Judges in Colorado, New York and south Texas have temporarily halted deportations in those areas, but there’s no ban for the Venezuelan nationals facing possible deportation from the Bluebonnet Detention Center in northern Texas. 

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The ACLU has called for a deportation ban on two Venezuelans being held at the center2, saying the administration is accusing them of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and any immigrants in the region. 

President Trump on Friday also commented on the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who had been living in Maryland and had protections against deportation, who was mistakenly deported to a prison in the county last month. 

“This is the hand of the man that the Democrats feel should be brought back to the United States, because he is such ‘a fine and innocent person,’” Trump wrote on Truth Social with a picture of him holding a photo that shows tattoos on Garcia’s knuckles. The photo says the symbols on Garcia’s knuckles spell out MS-13. 

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He continued: “They said he is not a member of MS-13, even though he’s got MS-13 tattooed onto his knuckles, and two Highly Respected Courts found that he was a member of MS-13, beat up his wife, etc. I was elected to take bad people out of the United States, among other things. I must be allowed to do my job. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.