Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is now in El Salvador seeking to see and facilitate the release of his innocent and wrongly deported and incarcerated constituent Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Sen.
Van Hollen is a workhorse of Congress. He first represented the district now represented by Rep. Jamie Raskin. He is especially knowledgeable about the Near East. (His father was a Foreign Service officer who served as deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs.) During his first campaign Van Hollen publicly denounced the Iraq War. Over the past year and a half, he's continually called for acknowledging State Department and Department of Defense analyses documenting Israeli IDF violations of US and international humanitarian law, by enforcing the Leahy Laws to pause offensive military aid to Israel. Van Hollen was instrumental in the Biden National Security Memorandum augmenting those laws.
I have long thought Van Hollen would be a formidable presidential contender. (And that he was one of the potential deep bench of presidential contenders which the Clinton DNC suppressed to insure Hillary's 'her turn' debacle.)
i’m just adding my agreement to your comment above. Thank you, Lin, for your potent and articulate words here.
ps. regarding Hillary‘s debacle, I have often thought that at her debate, when Trump arrogantlystalked behind her at her podium, she should have kicked him in the balls with her spiked heels I told him to ‘move it or lose it’. Doing so would have also kicked the door open for a badly needed woman President.
As much as we want Kilmar Abrego Garcia freed, don't forget there are 237+ others jailed in El Salvador without due process. [Reportedly there were 47,892 people in ICE detention, i.e. El Salvador, GITMO, Louisiana et al, as of March 23. Of those being held, 23,014 --or 48.1%— have no criminal record, according to data as of that date. Many more have only minor offenses, including traffic violations. Trump also wants 5 more prisons built in El Salvador for "Homegrown" inmates, i.e. American citizens.
The abduction of people kidnapped off the street and imprisoned in foreign and domestic "detention camps" means the end of rights guaranteed since 1215 (i.e., the Magna Carta) and the 4th, 8th and 14th Amendments in our Constitution. The writ of habeas corpus, which allows individuals to challenge the legality of their detention, has a long history tied to the Magna Carta. The 4th Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, while the 14th Due Process Clause ensures a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. As if those violations of the Constitution were not enough, the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the 8th Amendment prohibits such action inflicted by the government This amendment aims to protect individuals like Kilmar Garcia--and all other residents of the US, to be protected by the Constitution, from punishment that is excessively harsh or inhumane. Trump has destroyed the Constitution and the Magna Carta in 84 days, with the help of cowed, cowardlyRepublicans in Congress and the SCOTUS. Shades of Nazi Germany 1930s!
But we are NOT Germany of the period 1933-1845. We know history. Fight back, demonstrate, protest with signs or just stand in solidarity, write letters to the editor or internet columnists, call your congressperson or senator. Donate to Dem candidates, vote. Never give up. As Joyce Vance says: "We're in this together." Solidarity. TrumpMusk/MAGA et al is not what America is about or its democracy!
When these two rotten scoundrels conferred, Trump should have made Bukele promise to install a private cell with a golden toilet especially for Trump‘s own incarceration in that hell hole.
They are going to fix this forthwith. The remedy for deportations is required. My thoughts are not good on state terror, and reflect my impatience when there are torture and abuse being condoned. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/state-terrorism?r=3m1bs
Boasberg and Xinis. ThankYou!
Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is now in El Salvador seeking to see and facilitate the release of his innocent and wrongly deported and incarcerated constituent Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Sen.
Van Hollen is a workhorse of Congress. He first represented the district now represented by Rep. Jamie Raskin. He is especially knowledgeable about the Near East. (His father was a Foreign Service officer who served as deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs.) During his first campaign Van Hollen publicly denounced the Iraq War. Over the past year and a half, he's continually called for acknowledging State Department and Department of Defense analyses documenting Israeli IDF violations of US and international humanitarian law, by enforcing the Leahy Laws to pause offensive military aid to Israel. Van Hollen was instrumental in the Biden National Security Memorandum augmenting those laws.
I have long thought Van Hollen would be a formidable presidential contender. (And that he was one of the potential deep bench of presidential contenders which the Clinton DNC suppressed to insure Hillary's 'her turn' debacle.)
i’m just adding my agreement to your comment above. Thank you, Lin, for your potent and articulate words here.
ps. regarding Hillary‘s debacle, I have often thought that at her debate, when Trump arrogantlystalked behind her at her podium, she should have kicked him in the balls with her spiked heels I told him to ‘move it or lose it’. Doing so would have also kicked the door open for a badly needed woman President.
As much as we want Kilmar Abrego Garcia freed, don't forget there are 237+ others jailed in El Salvador without due process. [Reportedly there were 47,892 people in ICE detention, i.e. El Salvador, GITMO, Louisiana et al, as of March 23. Of those being held, 23,014 --or 48.1%— have no criminal record, according to data as of that date. Many more have only minor offenses, including traffic violations. Trump also wants 5 more prisons built in El Salvador for "Homegrown" inmates, i.e. American citizens.
The abduction of people kidnapped off the street and imprisoned in foreign and domestic "detention camps" means the end of rights guaranteed since 1215 (i.e., the Magna Carta) and the 4th, 8th and 14th Amendments in our Constitution. The writ of habeas corpus, which allows individuals to challenge the legality of their detention, has a long history tied to the Magna Carta. The 4th Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, while the 14th Due Process Clause ensures a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. As if those violations of the Constitution were not enough, the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the 8th Amendment prohibits such action inflicted by the government This amendment aims to protect individuals like Kilmar Garcia--and all other residents of the US, to be protected by the Constitution, from punishment that is excessively harsh or inhumane. Trump has destroyed the Constitution and the Magna Carta in 84 days, with the help of cowed, cowardlyRepublicans in Congress and the SCOTUS. Shades of Nazi Germany 1930s!
But we are NOT Germany of the period 1933-1845. We know history. Fight back, demonstrate, protest with signs or just stand in solidarity, write letters to the editor or internet columnists, call your congressperson or senator. Donate to Dem candidates, vote. Never give up. As Joyce Vance says: "We're in this together." Solidarity. TrumpMusk/MAGA et al is not what America is about or its democracy!
When these two rotten scoundrels conferred, Trump should have made Bukele promise to install a private cell with a golden toilet especially for Trump‘s own incarceration in that hell hole.
I also just read this and am trying to hold onto some cautious optimism.
"You can't win if you don't fight."
Sharing this piece about the Honorable Judge Boasberg from NYT. Judge Boasberg and Kavanaugh are very close friends. This could get very interesting:
"trump's least favorite Judge has friends in high places"
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/us/politics/trump-judge-boasberg-kavanaugh.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AE8.9wCG.Kf02SHrm4gMp&smid=url-share
They are going to fix this forthwith. The remedy for deportations is required. My thoughts are not good on state terror, and reflect my impatience when there are torture and abuse being condoned. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/state-terrorism?r=3m1bs