Southwest
Democrat faults his own party for picking wrong battle with case of deported MS-13 suspect
Rep. Henry Cuellar is pushing back against his own party over its stance on immigration, criticizing fellow Democrats for defending an illegal immigrant the Trump administration says is a violent MS-13 gang member.
“This is not the right issue to talk about due process. This is not the right case. This is not the right person to be saying that we need to bring him back to the United States,” Cuellar, D-Texas, told “The Brian Kilmeade Show” on Fox News Radio.
Cuellar was referring to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old illegal immigrant deported in March to a prison in El Salvador. The Trump administration alleges that Abrego Garcia is affiliated with the violent MS-13 gang and publicized court documents for a protective order from his wife. Some Democrats argue that he was denied due process and are demanding his return.
Jennifer Vasquez Sura, Abrego Garcia’s wife, said in a recent statement that she had been acting out of caution by seeking a protective order.
“After surviving domestic violence in a previous relationship, I acted out of caution following a disagreement with Kilmar by seeking a civil protective order, in case things escalated,” she said in part. “Things did not escalate, and I decided not to follow through with the civil court process. We were able to work through the situation privately as a family, including by going to counseling.”
Cuellar said making Abrego Garcia the face of immigration advocacy damages the party’s credibility with voters.
DEMS FUME OVER ‘DUE PROCESS’ FOR ABREGO GARCIA DESPITE LONG HISTORY OF PARTY BUCKING THE LEGAL PRINCIPLE
Rep. Henry Cuellar is under scrutiny for being on the DCCC’s focus list for the 2026 election. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images/AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
“Democrats should not take this issue,” Cuellar said. “When you look at immigration, is this the immigration case you want to take to fight on? In my opinion, absolutely no.”
Democratic lawmakers are challenging the administration’s deportation policies, including flights sending suspected criminal illegal migrants back to Central America. Several lawmakers have traveled to El Salvador to advocate for Abrego Garcia’s release and requested daily proof of life for him.
HOUSE DEMS DEMAND ‘PROOF OF LIFE’ OF ABREGO GARCIA AFTER BEING DENIED MEETING IN EL SALVADOR
Abrego Garcia crossed the U.S. border illegally, but later attempted to obtain protected legal status while living in Maryland.
His 2025 deportation was described in court as an administrative error. However, some Trump officials say the removal was justified, citing his alleged gang ties.
Cuellar, whose South Texas district includes a substantial Latino population, said he hears growing frustration from constituents about what they see as an inconsistent and unfair immigration system.
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., speaks to the media about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who was living in Maryland and deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, accompanied by Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., left, at a hotel in San Salvador, El Salvador, on Monday, April 21. (AP/Salvador Melendez)
“People were saying, ‘Our parents came in the legal way. They came in, became legal residents,’ and, ‘They came in and did it the right way.’ But when you see people jumping in, not knowing who they are,” he said. “That’s something wrong.”
Cuellar also expressed support for certain Trump-era border policies, particularly regarding security and enforcement. He dismissed previous Democratic claims that the border was secure.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., center, accompanied by Cesar Abrego Garcia, from left, Cecilia Garcia and Jennifer Vasquez Sura, speaks during a news conference upon his arrival from meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
“It was laughable when they would say that the border was secured,” he said. “Why are we going to let people in when you have no idea who these people are, and then let them roam the streets of the United States while you wait four or five years for an immigration court hearing? That was wrong, absolutely wrong.”
While Cuellar said he wouldn’t judge fellow Democrats for their choices, he questioned the party’s broader strategy on immigration and noted that some of the Trump administration’s policies were having an impact.
“The president has gotten Mexico to engage a lot more, if he can get them to play defense on their under 20-yard line instead of our 1-yard line called the U.S. border, then the better it is,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to face legal challenges over its immigration agenda. The Supreme Court is set to hear a case in May involving federal judges who blocked an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.
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A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
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A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
If you live or want to live in Los Angeles, the city controller has released a new dashboard highlighting some of the city’s most notorious problem rental properties, a tool designed to help renters avoid future headaches.
“This project comes at a time when tenants are reporting harassment and illegal evictions violating the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance and Tenant Anti‑Harassment Ordinance, but very few of the complaints end up leading to strong enforcement or real accountability,” L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a media release Thursday.
The new Top 100 Problem Rental Properties dashboard includes a searchable database of all residential addresses with reported housing violation cases within the city of Los Angeles, a ranked list of the 100 addresses with the most violations and an interactive map.
“There has never before been an uncomplicated way for anyone to look up years’ worth of violations by address,” Mejia said in the release.
Data for the dashboard was compiled from multiple sources, including the Los Angeles Housing Department, Los Angeles City Planning and the L.A. County Assessor’s Office, according to the controller’s office.
The release also identified the top three addresses with the highest number of reported housing violations:
1. 636 1/2 North Hill Place, Chinatown
192 housing violation cases
2. 11700 West Wilshire Boulevard, Sawtelle
166 housing violation cases
3. 6650 West Forest Lawn Drive, Hollywood Hills
113 housing violation cases
“Our new dashboard is an easy‑to‑understand public tool that we hope will help renters and organizers document patterns of harm, as well as put pressure on both landlords and the City to act,” Mejia said. “Everyone deserves safe, stable and dignified housing.”
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