Kristi Noem slams Dem Rep Dan Goldman over ‘fighting for terrorist’ Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s return to US

Noem and Goldman got into the exchange during the hearing when Goldman questioned Noem over what steps the Trump administration has been taking to bring Abrego Garcia back to the US in line with a court order. “What steps have you taken to return Mr. Abrego Garcia to allow him to get due process?” Goldman asked.

Noem began to say that Abrego Garcia was back in his home country before Goldman cut her off, asking loudly, "What steps have you taken?" The Supreme Court in April upheld a ruling that the Trump administration had to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return from El Salvador, where he remains imprisoned.

The DHS secretary then said that Goldman was advocating for Abrego Garcia, to which he replied he was "not advocating for him" and added that he was "advocating for a court order."

"What steps have you taken to return Mr. Rodrigo Garcia, pursuant to this court order," he again asked.

Noem then replied, "It's got to be extremely discouraging to be one of your constituents, to see you fight for a terrorist like this and not fight for them is extremely alarming to me."

Goldman argued back that he was "fighting for due process" in the case.

Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration earlier in April with dozens of other alleged gang terrorists belonging to Tren de Aragua and MS-13. In court documents representatives from the Trump administration said that he was deported due to an administrative error at the time, but that he needed to be deported from the country anyway.

Mainstream media outlets as well as lawmakers who have traveled down to meet with the alleged gang member have attempted to portray him as a “Maryland dad "that was needlessly deported. Abrego Garcia was determined to be a “verified gang member” in MS-13 by a court in 2019. However, another immigration court allowed him to remain in the US and blocked efforts to deport him.

His wife, who has now raised hundreds of thousands of dollars off the events has previously accused Abrego Garcia of domestic violence and was previously investigated for human labor trafficking.