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Vanessa Cárdenas Reacts to Trump and Bukele Meeting
The following is a statement from Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice, reacting to the details and implications of today’s White House Oval Office meeting between President Trump and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele:
“What we saw today at the White House should shock every American who cares about our system of checks and balances and the rule of law.
The U.S. Supreme Court has been clear that Mr. Kilmar García should be brought back to his family in Maryland. Yet, today, President Trump said they have no plans to abide by the Court’s ruling and return a man that President Trump's own Department of Justice acknowledges was mistakenly deported.
Even more disturbing, during today’s meeting, Trump acknowledged his plan to send U.S. citizens to El Salvador's prisons.
All of this is a reminder why immigration is the tip of the spear for Trump's larger assault on key pillars of our democracy and why what's at stake should alarm Americans of all political persuasions.”
Resources
- Read the America’s Voice statement ahead of today’s meeting: “Three Key Questions for President Trump & President Bukele”
Follow Vanessa Cárdenas and America’s Voice on BlueSky: vcardenas.bsky.social and americasvoice.bsky.social and Twitter: @VCardenasDC and @AmericasVoice
America's Voice -- Harnessing the power of American voices and American values to win common sense immigration reform. The mission of America's Voice is to realize the promise of workable and humane comprehensive immigration reform. Our goal is to build the public support and create the political momentum for reforms that will transform a dysfunctional immigration system that does not work into a regulatory system that does.
LATEST NEWS
Bernie Sanders Says Packed Rallies 'Scaring the Hell Out of' Trump and Musk
"The people of this country do not want oligarchy, they do not want authoritarianism, and they want a government that works for all of us, not just the 1%," Sanders asserted.
Apr 15, 2025
As U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders' Fighting Oligarchy Tour continues to draw massive crowds—even in states where people overwhelmingly voted for Republican President Donald Trump—the democratic socialist on Tuesday published a video highlighting the grassroots movement against rule by billionaires like the president and Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk.
"When Donald Trump looks out at this crowd—and they pay attention to this stuff, and Elon Musk does—you are scaring the hell out of them," Sanders (I-Vt.) said in the video posted on social media, which shows highlights from last Saturday's rally in Los Angeles that drew an estimated 36,000 attendees.
Since then, the Fighting Oligarchy Tour, on which Sanders has been joined by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), has rocked attendees of the Coachella music festival and drawn crowds of more than 20,000 people in deep-red Utah—a state in which Trump won the 2024 election by over 20 points—and upward of 12,000 in Nampa, Idaho, where Trump thrashed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris by a whopping 36%.
Pro-Palestine attendees of the Idaho rally were quickly removed by security after unfurling a Palestinian flag. This prompted Sanders—who has been criticized by Palestine defenders for his early refusal to endorse a cease-fire in Gaza as Israel launched its genocidal assault there and, later, by Israel backers for introducing legislation to ban U.S arms sales to the key ally—to declare that Israel "has the right to defend itself" but "does not have the right to wage all-out war against the Palestinian people."
Dismissing claims by Trump—who is known for his crowd size fixation—that Fighting Oligarchy rallies are drawing "two, three thousand people," Sanders told the Los Angeles rally: "He lied. There are people half a mile away!"
The video's narrator, pointing to reporting that Sanders' rallies are "pissing off" Musk, said that "Elon is so desperate to try and discredit this grassroots movement" that "instead of facing the reality that working-class people are fed up with billionaires like him, Musk decides to claim the crowd was full of paid protesters."
cDismissing the unfounded claim, Sanders said: "I invite the president to come to LA. Tell the people here why you think it's a great idea to cut Medicaid and nutrition and healthcare, so you can give tax breaks to billionaires."
"Musk and his friends see you as nothing more than workers to be disposed of," the senator continued. "They got rid of tens of thousands of federal workers. They don't give a damn about you. And what we have got to do is say, 'Sorry, We are human beings.'"
"Because they know what you know and what I know, is that they are the 1%, we are the 99%," Sanders said, reprising one of the slogans from his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns. "They own Congress, they own the White House, but they don't own us!"
"Now, I'm not going to tell you that it's going to be easy, it's not," he admitted. "We're gonna have to fight them door to door, workplace to workplace, school to school. We're gonna have to educate, we're gonna have to mobilize, we're gonna have to stand up in a dozen different ways."
"But from the bottom of my heart—and I've been to every state in this country; I don't care whether you're Republican, Democrat, or Independent—the people of this country do not want oligarchy, they do not want authoritarianism, and they want a government that works for all of us, not just the 1%," Sanders added.
Sanders' video came as the Fighting Oligarchy Tour continued, with one rally taking place Tuesday in Bakersfield, California and another scheduled for later in the afternoon in Folsom, California. Thousands packed Dignity Health Arena in Bakersfield to see Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, while enthusiastic supporters were seen forming a long queue ahead of the afternoon event in Folsom. Following that rally, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are scheduled to continue the tour with a stop in Missoula, Montana.
Common Dreamsreported Tuesday that new polling from
Harvard's Center for American Political Studies and Harris found that 72% of Democratic voters support politicians "who are calling on Democrats to adopt a more aggressive stance towards Trump and his administration and 'fight harder'" over ones who "compromise" with the president and his authoritarian agenda.
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Global Inaction Decried as Sudan Suffers World's 'Largest Humanitarian Crisis'
"Amid the rising tide of hate speech and ethnically driven violence and reprisals, we fear the darkest chapters of this conflict have yet to unfold," said the head of one U.N. mission.
Apr 15, 2025
Human rights groups on Tuesday marked two years of civil war in Sudan by decrying "international neglect" and urging the international community do more to end the conflict, while one United Nations official warned that the worst of the conflict may be still to come.
"The world has witnessed two years of ruthless conflict which has trapped millions of civilians in harrowing situations, subjecting them to violations and suffering with no end in sight," said Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the U.N.'s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan, on Monday. "Amid the rising tide of hate speech and ethnically driven violence and reprisals, we fear the darkest chapters of this conflict have yet to unfold."
Sudan has been racked by violence since fighting erupted between the between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)—the nation's official military—and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023. The civil war has also led to famine in certain areas of the country and mass displacement.
The head of the U.N. Children's Fund warned that Sudan is experiencing the world's largest and most devastating humanitarian crisis, according to a statement from last month.
"Sudan is now worse off than ever before," Elise Nalbandian, a regional advocacy and communications manager for Oxfam International, toldThe Guardian. "The largest humanitarian crisis, largest displacement crisis, largest hunger crisis... It's breaking all sorts of wrong records."
The two year mark of the start of the civil war comes on the heels of a wave of attacks in displacement camps and around the city of El Fasher carried out by paramilitary forces, according to The Guardian. Nine workers with Relief International were killed as part of the attacks.
"Today is a day of shame. Shame on the perpetrators on both sides of this terrible conflict who have inflicted unimaginable suffering on civilians. Shame on the world for turning away while Sudan burns. Shame on the countries that continue to add fuel to the fire," said Amnesty International's senior director for research, advocacy, policy, and campaigns Erika Guevara Rosas in a statement on Tuesday.
According to Rosas, both the Sudan Armed Forces, Rapid Support Forces, and their allies have committed atrocities, such as sexual violence against women and girls and tortute, that amount to war crimes. "Despite these atrocities, the world has largely chosen to remain passive. Alarmingly, the U.N. Security Council has failed to implement a comprehensive arms embargo on Sudan to halt the constant flow of weapons fueling these heinous crimes," she said.
In an opinion piece published Tuesday, two directors at Human Rights Watch highlighted both the anniversary of the crisis and a conference focused on Sudan that was held Tuesday and hosted by the United Kingdom with the African Union, the European Union, France, and Germany, per Reuters.
"As the U.K. convenes an international gathering on Sudan today, the stakes couldn't be higher for civilians there," the two wrote. "It is essential for the conference to deliver concrete actions designed to stop unfolding atrocities in Darfur and rally high-level support for protecting civilians."
The U.K. must use the conference to "rally global action to prevent more atrocities, starting with the creation of a coalition of states willing to work urgently to protect civilians. It also needs to move ahead with sanctions against commanders," they added.
According to Reuters, the European Union and the U.K. pledged at the conference to increase aid to Sudan.
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As White House Doubles Down, Judge Launches Inquiry of Refusal to Return Kilmar Abrego Garcia
"There will be no tolerance for gamesmanship or grandstanding," the judge said. "Cancel vacations, cancel other appointments... I expect all hands on deck."
Apr 15, 2025
As White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday had a "full-blown meltdown" after a reporter asked about the Maryland man wrongly deported to a prison in his native El Salvador, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis launched an inquiry into the Trump administration's refusal to seek the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States.
The Trump administration has previously admitted in court that Abrego Garcia was mistakenly sent to the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT)—despite an immigration judge's 2019 order barring his deportation to El Salvador—due to an administrative error. Xinis ordered the administration to facilitate his release, a decision unanimously affirmed last week by the U.S. Supreme Court.
However, Abrego Garcia remained imprisoned as the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) argued in a Sunday filing that Xinis has "no authority" to compel the administration to bring him home, and as President Donald Trump on Monday welcomed Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to the White House. Their meeting was followed by a Tuesday court hearing.
According toNBC News: "Attorneys for Abrego Garcia had asked that the administration be found in contempt of court over its inaction. The judge said she wants to review the evidence the administration submits, which is expected to include sworn depositions, before ruling on the matter."
During the hearing, Drew Ensign of the DOJ told Xinis—who was appointed to the District of Maryland by former President Barack Obama—that if Abrego Garcia "appears at a port of entry or U.S. Embassy we will facilitate his return."
Meanwhile, the judge called out the administration, saying: "What the record shows is that nothing has been done. Nothing. I asked for reports from individuals with direct knowledge, and I've gotten very little information of any value."
"We're going to move. There will be no tolerance for gamesmanship or grandstanding," Xinis continued. "There are no business hours while we do this… Cancel vacations, cancel other appointments. I'm usually pretty good about things like that in my court, but not this time. So, I expect all hands on deck."
NEW: Judge Xinis authorizes up to 15 interrogatories, 15 document requests, depositions from all govt declarants (Cerna, Katz, Kozak, and Mazzara) and up to two others to assess what the govt has done to "facilitate" Kilmar Abrego Garcia's release storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
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— Joshua J. Friedman (@joshuajfriedman.com) April 15, 2025 at 6:36 PM
At the White House on Tuesday, a reporter asked Leavitt who is responsible for Abrego Garcia and where he is going to end up. The press secretary responded by sharing unfounded allegations that he is a "terrorist" and member of the gang MS-13, and said that "deporting him back to El Salvador was always going to be the end result."
Leavitt also used Bukele's framing from the Oval Office event, when he suggested that returning the Maryland resident would mean smuggling a terrorist into the country. In addition to Abrego Garcia, the Trump administration has sent 238 Venezuelan migrants to CECOT, and the president on Monday expressed interest in sending "homegrown" American prisoners there.
"This is what mass deportation looks like," Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of the advocacy group America's Voice, said in a Tuesday statement. "The concept of stripping citizenship from U.S. citizens and sending them to El Salvador prisons without due process is the stuff of nightmares and undemocratic regimes, yet here we are."
"It's hard to overstate what the stakes are for our democracy and core American principles given what we're seeing and what the administration is now floating as the next steps in their larger deportation agenda," Cárdenas added. "And it's time Americans of all political perspectives stand up and speak out in opposition."
Some Democrats in Congress have blasted the Trump administration's anti-immigrant agenda and are part of the battle to bring Abrego Garcia home—including U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who is aiming to travel to El Salvador if the deported man is not swiftly returned to his state. Multiple Democratic members of the House of Representatives have signaled that they plan to join the trip.
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