House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has apparently figured out how bad it looks for members of his party to travel to El Salvador to advocate for illegals who have been deported by the Trump administration. He is quietly telling other Democrats to knock off the trips.
This week it was revealed that four of the Democrats who traveled to El Salvador stayed at a luxury resort. The optics of that could not be worse.
This entire affair has caused millions of Americans to wonder why Democrats would go to such lengths for people who are not even American citizens.
FOX News reports:
Jeffries distances himself from Democrat trips to El Salvador as border security debate splits party: report
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is privately signaling to fellow Democrats that it’s time to hit pause on trips to El Salvador aimed at spotlighting the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a move reflecting growing internal tensions over how the party is handling border security and immigration enforcement optics in the 2026 cycle.
Though Jeffries has publicly said Democrats are committed to securing Abrego Garcia’s return from a notorious Salvadoran prison, sources told The Bulwark that the New York Democrat has discouraged more lawmakers from traveling to the country.
One senior House staffer described the leadership’s position bluntly: “They want to let the El Salvador stuff slow down.”
“This is patently false, and thinly sourced innuendo,” said Jeffries staffer Christie Stephenson. “When Leader Jeffries says ‘more is more’ pushback on this lawless administration, he means it. As Leader Jeffries has repeatedly said, House Democrats will never stop fighting for the release of Mr. Abrego Garcia.”
Shorter Jefferies: No more trips to the Hilton San Salvador hotel bar to defend criminal illegal aliens. pic.twitter.com/oAQp0ENhaJ
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) April 30, 2025
does fighting to bring back terrorists and illegal immigrant gang members not poll well? https://t.co/v7otk2YXMa
— Ryan (@alwaysonoffense) April 30, 2025
You don’t need to be an expert in polling or public relations to know how bad this looked for Democrats.
