As Democrats rally around Abrego Garcia case, some worry a due process argument won’t land with voters

Democrats’ efforts to land on a winning message against President Donald Trump have led the party to consider how fully to embrace a new, politically complex cause: pressuring the administration to follow a Supreme Court order to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Democrats’ efforts to land on a winning message against President Donald Trump have led the party to consider how fully to embrace a new, politically complex cause: pressuring the administration to follow a Supreme Court order to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The party has uniformly spoken in support of Abrego Garcia’s right to due process after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador last month. But some have expressed concern in recent days over how it has conveyed the nuances of their argument that a violation of one person’s due process rights – regardless of their personal backstory or legal status – threatens everyone in the US. And as Democrats look to take back power in Washington, starting with next year’s midterm elections, how that message is received by voters matters. Democrats who’ve urged a different approach say they worry that the party isn’t doing enough to broaden the due process argument beyond Abrego Garcia’s case. Others have argued it’s a “distraction” from more politically salient messages on the economy that shifts the conversation to immigration, where Trump holds an advantage with voters. In an aggressive push to keep the issue alive and raise pressure on the administration, Democratic lawmakers – including Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and a quartet of House progressives – recently traveled to El Salvador to visit Abrego Garcia, who has been held in Salvadoran prisons since his deportation last month, and pushed for his release. They join others who have rejected the counter argument from members of their own party, who say the due process argument comes with political risks. “We as Democrats should fight for due process not because it polls well, not because it’s been focus grouped, but because fighting for due process is the right thing to do,” Rep. Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat, said in an interview. Under legislation Torres introduced last month, the US government would be required to punish foreign countries if they don’t return migrants who a court has ruled were improperly deported.