Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI)

U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) released the following statement after President Donald Trump and top administration officials refused to comply with a Supreme Court order to help return Kilmar Abrego Garcia who the Justice Department has admitted to mistakenly deporting to El Salvador.

“President Donald Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio need to start following the law – now. They are knowingly violating the law by denying people due process and disappearing them to foreign prisons without any evidence of criminal behavior. The Supreme Court was clear and unanimous: the administration must help bring back Kilmar Abrego Garcia who was deported on fabricated charges.”

“The Trump administration’s recklessness and lawlessness is risking lives, while also threatening our national security, the rule of law, and our reputation as a country that people want to come to – as visitors, as scholars, as essential workers – seeking better lives. The American system is not a free-for-all; our laws still matter; and this administration is not uniquely immune to the legal, political, and human consequences of its actions.

“Congress will continue to conduct rigorous oversight and exert our authority through the appropriations process. In the meantime, I expect to hear from Secretary Rubio directly on how he intends to facilitate Mr. Garcia’s return, end the illegal deportations, and bring his department into compliance with the law, both as it relates to immigration policy as well as the ongoing evisceration of American foreign assistance. This lawless rampage cannot continue.”

Sen. Brian Schatz

Senators: “When the Administration makes a mistake as severe as sending an individual with protected status to a foreign prison, it cannot simply shrug off responsibility and allege that there is nothing it can do to reunite him with his wife and child, who are American citizens.”

Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Chris Coons, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Martin Heinrich, Sen. Mazie Hirono, Sen. Tim Kaine, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Ed Markey, Sen. Jeff Merkley, Sen. Alex Padilla, Sen. Gary Peters, Sen. Jack Reed, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Brian Schatz, Sen. Adam Schiff, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Sen. Mark Warner, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Peter Welch, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Sen. Ron Wyden

"U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined 18 of her colleagues in urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to reconsider the Trump Administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans who applied for TPS under its designation in 2023. The Administration’s decision to revoke this critical protection has been temporarily put on hold by a court order, postponing the harm it will cause to approximately 350,000 people who remain at risk of losing TPS."

Sen. Michael Bennet, Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Chris Coons, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Tim Kaine, Sen. Andy Kim, Sen. Ed Markey, Sen. Patty Murray, Sen. Alex Padilla, Sen. Jack Reed, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Brian Schatz, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Sen. Mark Warner, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Peter Welch

Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and 6 colleagues in sending a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., sounding the alarm on troubling reports that HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has unlawfully granted expanded access to sensitive data on unaccompanied children and their sponsors to DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Last week—following the Trump Administration’s recent termination of a contract that provides legal services for unaccompanied children who appear in immigrant court—Senator Hirono introduced The Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2025, legislation to provide unaccompanied children with legal representation when they appear in proceedings before an immigration judge.

Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Martin Heinrich, Sen. Mazie Hirono, Sen. Ben Ray Luján, Sen. Alex Padilla, Sen. Jacky Rosen, Sen. Brian Schatz, Sen. Adam Schiff

This week Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) joined Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and over 30 lawmakers in writing to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Acting Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons, demanding information about the arrest and detention of Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk and similar incidents across the country.

“The Administration should not summarily detain and deport legal residents of this country merely for expressing their political views. Absent compelling evidence justifying her detention and the revocation of her status, we call for Ozturk’s release and the restoration of her visa,” wrote the lawmakers. 

Rep. Yassamin Ansari, Rep. Jake Auchincloss, Rep. Don Beyer, Rep. André Carson, Rep. Greg Casar, Rep. Katherine Clark, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, Rep. Hank Johnson, Sen. Tim Kaine, Sen. Andy Kim, Rep. Summer Lee, Rep. Stephen Lynch, Sen. Ed Markey, Rep. Jim McGovern, Rep. LaMonica McIver, Sen. Jeff Merkley, Rep. Seth Moulton, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Mark Pocan, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Rep. Delia Ramirez, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Brian Schatz, Sen. Adam Schiff, Sen. Tina Smith, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Rep. Jill Tokuda, Rep. Lori Trahan, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Sen. Peter Welch

"U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined 64 House and Senate Democrats in urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to reverse the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (EOIR) alarming decision to fire immigration judges even as the immigration courts currently face a staggering backlog of immigration cases. In February, EOIR abruptly fired 20 immigration judges, removed all nine Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) judges appointed during the Biden Administration, and terminated four individuals in senior EOIR leadership positions, with indications they may remove even more judges."

Rep. Yassamin Ansari, Rep. Becca Balint, Rep. Sanford Bishop, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, Sen. Sherrod Brown, Rep. Sean Casten, Rep. Gerry Connolly, Rep. Lou Correa, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Rep. Warren Davidson, Rep. Danny Davis, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Sen. Dick Durbin, Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, Rep. Chuy García, Rep. Dan Goldman, Rep. Jahana Hayes, Sen. John Hickenlooper, Sen. Mazie Hirono, Rep. Jared Huffman, Rep. Jonathan Jackson, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Rep. Hank Johnson, Sen. Tim Kaine, Rep. Ro Khanna, Sen. Andy Kim, Sen. Angus King, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Rep. George Latimer, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Rep. Stephen Lynch, Sen. Ed Markey, Rep. Betty McCollum, Rep. Jim McGovern, Rep. Grace Meng, Sen. Jeff Merkley, Sen. Patty Murray, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Sen. Alex Padilla, Rep. Frank Pallone, Rep. Mark Pocan, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Sen. Jack Reed, Sen. Jacky Rosen, Rep. Deborah Ross, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, Sen. Brian Schatz, Sen. Adam Schiff, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Rep. Melanie Stansbury, Rep. Tom Suozzi, Rep. Bennie Thompson, Rep. Jill Tokuda, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Rep. Nydia Velázquez, Sen. Mark Warner, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Rep. Maxine Waters, Sen. Peter Welch, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse

“Detaining a green card holder for removal from the country without due process is wrong – regardless of the circumstances. It is a violation of the law and sets us down a dangerous path where people who are in the country legally can be detained, disappeared, and removed without any recourse. Donald Trump has explicitly said that the detention of Mahmoud Khalil is ‘the first arrest of many to come.’ That should chill any American who believes in the constitutional rights to free speech and due process which apply to everyone, not just those whom we agree with. If a crime has been committed – which has not been alleged in this particular case – it should be litigated in the courts, not prosecuted through a detention in the shadows. The United States must remain a nation of laws and a nation that lives up to our aspirations of freedom for everyone, including immigrants.”

Sen. Brian Schatz

"Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) led nine of her colleagues in introducing the Born in the USA Act to effectively block the implementation of President Trump’s unconstitutional Executive Order attempting to end automatic citizenship for children born in the United States. This bill would prevent any government funds from being used to carry out or enforce this directive, which violates the U.S. Constitution. Senator Rosen was one of the first Congressional leaders to come out forcefully against the President’s birthright citizenship Executive Order. Federal courts have temporarily blocked the order’s implementation, but the Trump Administration is expected to appeal."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Alex Padilla, Sen. Jacky Rosen, Sen. Brian Schatz, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Sen. Peter Welch

"U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Vice Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, led 13 of their Democratic colleagues in demanding that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) uphold the United States’ trust and treaty responsibility with Tribal nations and their citizens by ending wrongful searches and interrogations of Tribal members."

Sen. Michael Bennet, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Sen. Martin Heinrich, Sen. John Hickenlooper, Sen. Tim Kaine, Sen. Angus King, Sen. Ben Ray Luján, Sen. Jeff Merkley, Sen. Patty Murray, Sen. Alex Padilla, Sen. Brian Schatz, Sen. Tina Smith, Sen. Mark Warner, Sen. Ron Wyden