White House rages at House Democrat for ‘shameful’ Memorial Day trip to visit suspected MS-13 gangbanger

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Democrat Rep. Glenn Ivey fumes he was not allowed access to Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., says outside an El Salvador prison that he is furious for not being given access to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia

The White House ripped Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., for making a "shameful" Memorial Day trip to El Salvador in an attempt to visit deported illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

The White House’s rapid response account said of Ivey's trip, "This moron spent his Memorial Day trying (and failing) to visit a criminal illegal immigrant gangbanger in a foreign country. For Democrats, criminal illegals > American citizens every time."

Ivey posted about the attempted visit on his X account, saying that he represents Abrego Garcia, and that the Salvadoran government stonewalled his efforts to conduct a welfare check.

"Today, I was denied access to seeing my constituent, Mr. Kilmar Abrego Garcia. If there is nothing to hide, cut the crap. Let his lawyer and I check on him," he said. "I’m the congressman who represents Kilmar and I came all the way down from the United States after we contacted their ambassador, after we made formal requests through our ambassador to the El Salvadoran government, and we came here to visit him today."

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The White House slammed Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., for making a "shameful" Memorial Day trip to El Salvador to attempt to visit deported illegal and suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Alex Wong/Getty Images and Fox News)

"We need to bring him home. I won’t stop until we do," Ivey added in an X post.

Abrego Garcia’s deportation to his home country, El Salvador, has caused significant controversy. The Trump administration has pointed to evidence suggesting that Abrego Garcia was involved with MS-13 and human trafficking to justify his deportation. The administration has also cited court documents detailing Abrego Garcia’s alleged physical abuse of his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura. Democrats, meanwhile, say he is a "Maryland man" who was not given his due process in court before being deported. 

Since Abrego Garcia’s deportation, several Democrats, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., have made trips to El Salvador to conduct similar wellness checks and to advocate for his release.

The trips have stirred significant controversy as well, with many asking why Democrats are spending so much time advocating for a suspected gang member who was unlawfully present in the U.S.

MARYLAND DEMOCRAT IVEY FURIOUS NOT GIVEN ACCESS TO KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA IN EL SALVADOR

In this handout provided by Sen. Van Hollen's Office, Van Hollen (D-MD) meets with Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia (L) at an undisclosed location on April 17, 2025 in San Salvador, El Salvador. Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident, was illegally deported by the Trump administration and has been held in prison in El Salvador since March 15.  (Sen. Van Hollen's Office via Getty Images)

The video also caught the attention of White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson.

Jackson told Fox News Digital that "it’s shameful, and an insult to the American people, that a Democrat Congressman spent his Memorial Day trying to visit a deported illegal alien, MS-13 terrorist, human-trafficker, and wife beater."

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"This pathetic stunt tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of the modern Democrat party – they’re putting criminal illegals over American citizens all the time," said Jackson.

In addition to the wife beating evidence, Fox News Digital has previously reported on documents detailing Abrego Garcia being stopped by a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper after he was "observed speeding" and unable to stay in his lane in 2022. The trooper noticed eight individuals in the car with Abrego Garcia, who said he began driving three days prior from Houston to Temple Hills, Maryland, via St. Louis to "perform construction work." 

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

Fox News Digital has previously reported on documents detailing Abrego Garcia being stopped by a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper after he was "observed speeding" and unable to stay in his lane in 2022. The trooper noticed eight individuals in the car with Abrego-Garcia, who said he began driving three days prior from Houston to Temple Hills, Md., via St. Louis to "perform construction work."  (Tennessee Highway Patrol)

The report states that the trooper suspected it was a human trafficking incident, as there was no luggage in the vehicle. Additionally, the individuals in the car reportedly gave the same address as Abrego Garica's home address.

When speaking with the trooper, Abrego Garcia allegedly "pretended to speak less English than he was capable of and attempted to put encountering officer off-track by responding to questions with questions." After the incident, the officer decided not to give Abrego Garcia a citation for the driving infractions, but rather to give him a warning for driving with an expired license. 

The White House has not held back in its criticisms of Van Hollen's visit. In April, the White House tweeted side-by-side photos of Trump meeting with the mother of Rachel Morin, who was murdered by an illegal immigrant in 2023, and Van Hollen sitting with Abrego Garcia with the caption, "We are not the same."

Rachel Morin was a Maryland resident, as is her mother, Patty, who said that Van Hollen had not reached out to her since her daughter was murdered.

Van Hollen responded to this criticism in a Fox News interview in which he said he "did have concern" for the Morin family and his "heart goes out to every Maryland family that is the victim of violence." Van Hollen also said that "there is zero connection between the horrible murder of Rachel Morin and the situation with Abrego Garcia." 

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Randolph Rice, left, Patty Morin, center, and Rebekah Morin, right, arrive at Harford County Courthouse in Bel-Air, MD, Friday, April 4, 2025 for the murder trial of Victor Antonio Martinez who is accused of murdering Rachel Morin. (Leigh Green for Fox News Digital)

In an emailed statement, Ivey told Fox News Digital that he finds it "hard to believe that the [Trump] Administration who recently cut funding to VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) and VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) grants is attacking a former prosecutor who has empathized with victims of violent crime for many years and still stays in touch with many of those survivors to this day."

"Having prosecuted real gang members and criminals to hold them accountable for families who lost loved ones, I was recently awarded the lifetime achievement award by the Maryland Crime Victims Fund," he added. 

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The congressman also said that though he did speak with Morin after a House hearing, "the case of her daughter’s murder and the pending due process matter of Kilmar Abrego Garcia have nothing to do with each other."

"I went to visit Mr. Abrego Garcia, who is married to an American citizen, is the father to three American citizens and lived in my district at the time of his unlawful detention and deportation, in an attempt to ensure his safe return to Maryland for his day in court," he said, adding, "the Administration needs to substantiate in court, under oath their allegations against Mr. Garcia. It’s time for them to put up or shut up. Bring Kilmar home now."