A high-ranking official from the Trump administration has stirred controversy by claiming that anyone demanding due process for a Maryland father wrongly deported to El Salvador is effectively “aiding criminals” and “hating America.”
Sebastian Gorka, who served as Donald Trump’s senior director for counterterrorism, made these remarks during a heated appearance on Rob Schmitt Tonight on Newsmax. He suggested that critics of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s deportation might be engaging in criminal behavior themselves.
“It’s not left and right. It’s not even Republican or Democrat. There’s one line that divides us: Do you love America or do you hate America? It’s really quite that simple,” Gorka said during the interview.
Gorka continued, accusing Democrats who argue that Garcia should be returned to the U.S.—in compliance with a Supreme Court order—of not truly “loving America.” He went further, claiming those opposing the Trump administration’s actions are “on the side of the criminals, on the side of the illegal aliens, on the side of the terrorists.”
He didn’t stop there. Gorka added, “And you have to ask yourself, are they technically aiding and abetting them? Because aiding and abetting criminals and terrorists is a crime in federal statute.”
However, the accusations against Garcia—namely that he was tied to the violent MS-13 gang—have been questioned and remain shaky at best. The government’s case relies on a single 2019 police interview report, which has been called into question. The officer who wrote the report was suspended under unclear circumstances shortly after the interview, and the evidence is primarily based on an informant’s vague claim that Garcia was part of MS-13’s “Westerns” clique. This is highly questionable, given that Garcia had never lived in Long Island, where that faction is primarily based.
The government’s case has further unravelled as Garcia’s defense team was unable to interview the officer who wrote the report, due to the officer’s suspension. Additionally, ICE has used tattoos and even clothing—such as a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie—as evidence to argue that Garcia was connected to a gang.
Garcia, who fled El Salvador at the age of 16 after gang members threatened his life, was arrested in 2019 for being undocumented and was detained while searching for day labor work. He wasn’t charged with any crimes at the time.
In 2019, at his deportation hearing, ICE argued that Garcia was “a danger to the community,” citing his alleged connection to a murder investigation and the supposed confirmation of his gang affiliation by local police. However, after Garcia was granted a legal order to stay in the U.S. due to the risk of persecution in El Salvador, the government has failed to provide solid evidence supporting its claims of gang involvement.
Despite this, senior government officials continue to label Garcia a “threat” and even a “terrorist.”
Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, Garcia’s lawyer, blasted these claims, saying they endanger his client’s life.
A 60 Minutes investigation uncovered that the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador, where Garcia is being held, has a history of mistreating prisoners. In fact, at least 75% of the men sent to the facility have no criminal records, raising serious human rights concerns.
The Trump administration has acknowledged that Garcia’s deportation was the result of an “administrative error,” but refuses to bring him back to the U.S. Instead, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has doubled down on its stance, calling Garcia an “MS-13 gang member” in a post on X (formerly Twitter) and continuing to highlight a 2021 restraining order filed by Garcia’s wife.
The DHS tweet also echoed comments from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who claimed Garcia was “not the father of the year.”
“Kilmar Abrego Garcia had a history of violence and was not the upstanding ‘Maryland Man’ the media has portrayed him as,” the post read.
Court documents show that Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, filed the protective order after a disagreement with him. However, she clarified in a statement to Newsweek that the situation did not escalate and that she chose not to pursue further legal action. “After surviving domestic violence in a previous relationship, I acted out of caution after a disagreement with Kilmar by seeking a civil protective order in case things escalated,” she explained. “Things did not escalate, and I decided not to follow through with the civil court process.”
Despite the lack of solid evidence and the legal protections Garcia was granted, the Trump administration’s narrative continues to frame him as a dangerous criminal—labeling anyone who supports his right to due process as unpatriotic and criminal. This ongoing battle highlights the tension between the push for hardline immigration policies and the need to protect basic human rights.
Watch the full interview below from Newsmax:
