JB Pritzker orders Illinois agencies to boycott El Salvador over deportations to CECOT prison

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D) has directed state agencies to boycott work with El Salvador in response to the deportations of Venezuelans to the country. There has also been a political fight over the deportation of alleged MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who El Salvador said will not be going back to the US. This includes slashing contracts, investments, and trade imports that the state has with the Central American country. The move comes after Democratic legislators traveled to El Salvador to demand the release of Abrego Garcia on claims that he was wrongfully deported.

In a statement issued on Wednesday to the Huffington Post, Governor Pritzker wrote: "The United States Constitution guarantees due process. We are witnessing Donald Trump erode fundamental Constitutional rights in real time, and we must fight to restore the balance of power. The State of Illinois will stand up for the Rule of Law and do everything in our power to stop the Trump administration from ripping apart our most basic rights."

Pritzker has directed the Illinois State Board of Investment, the State Universities Retirement System, and the Teachers' Retirement System to "identify any fund investments" that are managed, owned, or controlled by the Salvadoran government or have ties to business in El Salvador. He also instructed the state Department of Central Management Services to review contracts awarded to companies affiliated with the Salvadoran government or enterprises.

Additionally, Pritzker directed the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to conduct a trade analysis between the state and El Salvador. This involves determining the "scale and nature of imports" of El Salvadoran commodities that are part of the state's manufacturing supply chain.

The boycott is in response to the March deportation of the foreign nationals to El Salvador. Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 gang member who was sent to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) after being removed from the country by US Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE). Democratic lawmakers claimed he was wrongfully deported without "due process." Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant, had been unlawfully residing in Maryland with his wife when he was captured by ICE. El Salvador has said that the country will not return Abrego Garcia as the Supreme Court has said that the US government needs to work with the country to return the alleged gang member.  

In 2019, an immigration court determined that Abrego Garcia was a gang member and granted a deportation withholding order on the grounds that he professed a fear for his life if he were to return to El Salvador. However, it is reported that he informed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prior to his deportation that he had no apprehensions about returning to his country of origin.

Despite the Department of Justice and two federal judges declaring Abrego Garcia a member of the MS-13 terror group, Democratic lawmaker have portrayed the suspected gang member as a "Maryland dad” that was wrongfully deported. It has also been revealed that Abrego Garcia's wife filed a domestic violence protection order against him, and he was previously under investigation by authorities for human smuggling.

Illinois is a self-declared sanctuary state for illegal immigrants.