Michigan Democratic Congressman Shri Thanedar wants to impeach President Donald Trump over “high crimes” related to the deportation of a MS-13 gang member to El Salvador.
“I’ve seen enough,” Thanedar posted to Facebook last week. “Trump is not abiding by a Supreme Court ruling. I fully support impeaching him. NOW.”
It was more of the same on X and in a press release on Friday.
“We cannot allow this obvious authoritarian power grab to continue,” Thanedar posted. “I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stand up for the Constitution and the American people and join the call for impeachment.”
The Detroit Democrat points to an alleged “willful disregard and flagrant violation of due process” in the deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old member of the notoriously ruthless MS-13 gang who was deported to a prison in his native El Salvador on March 12.
The arrest sparked protests from Garcia’s family and immigration activists, who disputed his affiliation with MS-13 and challenged his deportation in court. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered federal officials to facilitate Garcia’s return, citing a 2019 order blocking his removal, and the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld that ruling.
Federal officials insist any decision to return Garcia rests with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who recently told reporters during a visit to the White House that’s not going to happen.
The Trump administration contends there’s no scenario in which Garcia will live in the U.S., regardless of whether he’s returned for El Salvador.
“If he ever ends up back in the United States, he would immediately be deported again,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday. “Nothing will change the fact that Abrego Garcia will never be a Maryland father. He will never live in the United States of America again.”
The Supreme Court remanded Garcia’s case to district court for further proceedings.
While those proceedings continue, Thanedar is rallying those who oppose the 47th POTUS to launch impeachment efforts before the case is even resolved.
“The administration’s blatant disregard for this ruling from the highest court of the Judicial Branch is a direct defiance of the US Constitution and a dismissal of the checks and balances that safeguard against tyranny and abuses of power,” according to the congressman’s Friday news release. “This non-compliance falls under ‘High Crimes’ as outlined in Section 4 of Article Two of the United States Constitution and constitutes an impeachable offense.”
If that’s not good enough, Thanedar contends there’s plenty of other reasons to impeach Trump a third time. The president was previously impeached twice during his first term, first over a phone call with Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy and again for the January 2021 events at the Capitol, though he was acquitted by the Senate on both occasions.
Garcia’s deportation “is another in a long list of impeachable offenses committed by this President. Since taking office, President Trump has been on a rampage, targeting spending authorized by Congress under the false pretense of ‘preventing fraud,’” the Friday release read. “He is exacting revenge against those who dared to hold him and his administration accountable for their unlawful actions.
“He has launched an onslaught of attacks against social programs, imposed a freeze on federal aid and hiring, and is seeking to dismantle the Department of Education, USAID, FEMA, and other major government agencies, all of which are under the authority of Congress,” it continued.
Thanedar isn’t the only Michigan Democratic member of Congress flipping out over Garcia’s removal.
Congresswoman Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, has also waded into the controversy both on social media and in television appearances to demand “accountability” for Trump, though she hasn’t used the word “impeach.”
Scholten contends Trump’s “refusing to comply” with the SCOTUS and “tearing at the core of our democracy.”
“His behavior is not just reckless, it is lawless,” she alleged in a post to X.
“I am calling on my colleagues and all Americans, regardless of party, to recognize the gravity of this moment and to speak up,” Scholten said. “We must stand united in defense of the rule of law and ensure that no individual is above the law.”
The Trump administration, meanwhile, is defending its decision to deport Garcia, noting multiple courts and immigration officials confirmed his ties to MS-13, a gang designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
“If the hill that Democrats want to die on is demanding the return of a violent illegal alien, wifebeater, and foreign terrorist, we are happy to dig that grave for them,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said, according to The Detroit News.
