Contrasting Media Perceptions Of Abrego Garcia: Bias Breakdown

WELCOME TO BIAS BREAKDOWN.

I’M YOUR HOST KARAH RUCKER.

“KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA.”

YOU’VE LIKELY HEARD THE STORY AS IT’S BEEN THE LEAD IN MANY BROADCASTS OVER THE PAST WEEK  –

BUT YOU PROBABLY HAVEN’T HEARD IT TOLD LIKE THIS.

WE’LL COVER EVERY ANGLE –

FROM HIS DEPORTATION FROM MARYLAND TO AN EL SALVADOR PRISON AND WHY THAT’S BEING REPORTED AS  “WRONGFUL”.

WE’LL TALK ABOUT HIS ALLEGED GANG AFFILIATION AND THE EVIDENCE BEING PRESENTED TO SUPPORT THE CLAIMS.

AND WHERE THINGS STAND IN THE LEGAL BATTLE THAT WENT TO THE SUPREME COURT AND IS LIKELY TO LAND BACK IN THE HIGH COURT.

THIS IS WHERE YOU’LL GET THE FACTS OF THE STORY.

WE HAVE A LOT TO COVER SO LET’S GET STRAIGHT TO IT.

NEWS OUTLETS ON THE LEFT ARE LARGELY HOLDING ABREGO GARCIA UP AS A SYMBOL OF WHAT THEY CALL AN INHUMANE FAILURE OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S MASS DEPORTATIONS.

AND NEWS OUTLETS ON THE RIGHT – DEEM HIM A DANGEROUS INDIVIDUAL WHO WAS RIGHTFULLY DEPORTED BY THE ADMINISTRATION.

HOW THE FACTS ARE BEING CONSTRUED TO CONSTRUCT A POLITICAL NARRATIVE.

THAT’S THE FOCUS OF TODAY’S BIAS BREAKDOWN.

YOU’VE BEEN TOLD TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS FROM NETWORKS ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT REGARDING ABREGO GARCIA’S CASE FROM THE GET GO –

BEGINNING WITH HOW THE MEDIA CHOSE TO IDENTIFY AND DESCRIBE HIM.

LEFT-NETWORKS LARGELY REFERRING TO HIM AS “THE MARYLAND MAN, RESIDENT, OR “MARYLAND FATHER” – WHO WAS WRONGLY DEPORTED.”

MEANWHILE NETWORKS ON THE RIGHT REFERRED TO HIM AS THE “ALLEGED GANG MEMBER” AND “ILLEGAL ALIEN” DEPORTED BACK TO HIS HOME COUNTRY.

THE SAME PATTERN WAS SEEN ACROSS PRINT MEDIA AS WELL –

OTHER NEWS OUTLETS ON THE LEFT – LIKE AXIOS AND NPR –

CALLING ABREGO GARCIA “A WRONGLY DEPORTED MARYLAND MAN.”

AND OTHER NEWS OUTLETS ON THE RIGHT – LIKE THE DAILY WIRE AND THE NEW YORK POST – IDENTIFYING HIM AS AN “MS-13 SUSPECT AND GANGBANGER.”

THE CASE HAS BECOME A WAR OF WORDS BETWEEN THE TWO PARTISAN SIDES OF MEDIA.

THE WHITE HOUSE GOT IN ON THE DESCRIPTOR WORDS IN THE MEDIA  –

MAKING THIS POST ON X – SHOWING RED-INK CORRECTIONS TO A NEW YORK TIMES HEADLINE READING “SENATOR MEETS WITH WRONGLY DEPORTED MARYLAND MAN IN EL SALVADOR” – CHANGING IT TO “MS-13 ILLEGAL ALIEN WHO’S NEVER COMING BACK” – LANGUAGE ALIGNED WITH THAT USED IN RIGHT-LEANING MEDIA.

THE PRESS SECRETARY ALSO SOUNDED OFF LAST WEEK.

SO LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS FOR A SECOND – AND BREAK IT DOWN.

IT’S COMMON FOR NEWS OUTLETS TO USE DESCRIPTOR WORDS WHEN CIRCLING BACK TO A NEWS STORY OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

BUT AS YOU JUST SAW THE FRAMING OF THOSE FEW WORDS – CAN BE CHOSEN IN A WAY TO FIT THE RHETORIC COMING FROM ONE POLITICAL SIDE – WHICH TILTS THE SCALE OF BALANCE IN NEWS REPORTS.

HERE’S THE THING. ALL OF THESE DESCRIPTORS ARE TECHNICALLY ACCURATE. 

HE DID RESIDE IN MARYLAND. HE DOES HAVE KIDS. HE CAME INTO THE U.S. ILLEGALLY. HE IS AN ACCUSED GANG MEMBER AND HIS GIRLFRIEND DID REPORT HIM FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

SOMETIMES WE USE MEDIA WATCHDOG GROUP ALLSIDES – WHO POLICE THIS SORT OF BIAS IN NEWS REPORTS.

HERE’S WHAT THEY WROTE.

“Outlets from nan correct person highlighted Abrego Garcia’s unlawful US introduction and accusations of home maltreatment and pack affiliations. These sources often sensationalized headlines.”

Many media outlets connected nan left…sought to represent him sympathetically arsenic a “Maryland man” or, successful some cases, a “Maryland father.”

LET’S MOVE ON AND GET TO THE FACTS ABOUT ABREGO GARCIA’S IMMIGRATION STATUS AND KNOWN HISTORY – INCLUDING ALLEGATIONS OF GANG AFFILATION.

THIS IS A LENGTHY PROCESS – INVOLVING LOTS OF COURT DOCUMENTS.

WE’LL TRY TO LAY THIS OUT IN A WAY WHERE ITS EASY TO FOLLOW IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.

ABREGO GARCIA ENTERED THE COUNTRY ILLEGALLY IN 2011 ACCORDING TO HIS OWN TESTIMONY IN COURT DOCUMENTS THAT CAME LATER DURING IMMIGRATION PROCEEDINGS. 

IN 2016 – ABREGO GARCIA BEGINS DATING JENNIFER VASQUEZ SURA.

In 2018 – EDWIN RAMOS – THE FATHER OF VAZQUEZ SURA’S TWO CHILDREN ACCORDING TO COURT DOCUMENTS – FILES AN EMERGENCY CUSTODY HEARING – CLAIMING THE CHILDREN WERE IN SERIOUS DANGER BECAUSE SURA WAS “DATING A GANG MEMBER.”

A JUDGE DISMISSED THE CUSTODY BATTLE OVER A LACK OF JURISDICTION.

IN MARCH 2019 – ABREGO GARCIA IS ARRESTED AT A HOME DEPOT WITH THREE OTHERS IN MARYLAND. 

IN THE REPORT – POLICE INDICATE SEVERAL OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE KNOWN GANG MEMBERS. 

POLICE SAID OF ABREGO GARCIA – HE “was wearing a Chicago Bulls chapeau and a hoodie pinch rolls of money covering nan eyes, ears and rima of nan presidents connected nan abstracted denominations. Officers cognize specified clothing to beryllium suggestive of Hispanic pack culture.

Wearing nan Chicago Bulls chapeau represents that they are a personnel successful bully opinionated pinch nan MS-13 . Officers contacted a past proven and reliable root of information, who advised Kilmar Armando ABREGO-GARCIA is an progressive personnel of MS-13.”

Abrego-Garcia was validated arsenic a personnel of nan MS-13 Gang.

Abrego-Garcia has pack affiliation and taxable states that he has nary accusation astir gangs aliases human/drug smuggling.  

Abrego-Garcia is claiming fearfulness of returning to his location state of El Salvador. 

THIS PRIOR ARREST OF ABREGO GARCIA – PARTICULARLY EVIDENCE OF A BULLS HAT LINKING HIM TO A GANG – WAS LARGELY DISMISSED BY LEFT-LEANING OUTLETS.

BUT RIGHT LEANING MEDIA POINTED TO IT AS EVIDENCE.

POLICE DIDN’T CHARGE ABREGO GARCIA IN THE INCIDENT AND INSTEAD HANDED HIM OVER TO ICE CUSTODY.

DHS – SOUGHT HIS REMOVAL FROM THE COUNTRY – CITING ILLEGAL ENTRY AND GANG AFFILIATION.

ABREGO GARCIA FILED AN ASYLUM CLAIM.

IN APRIL, IMMIGRATION JUDGE ELIZABETH KESSLER DENIED HIS BAIL WHILE HIS ASYLUM REQUEST PLAYED OUT.

KESSLER WROTE THAT “the determination that nan Respondent is simply a pack personnel appears to beryllium trustworthy and is supported by different grounds successful nan record, namely, accusation contained successful nan Gang Field Interview Sheet. Although nan Court is reluctant to springiness evidentiary weight to nan Respondent’s clothing arsenic an denotation of pack affiliation, nan truth that a “past, proven, and reliable root of information” verified nan Respondent’s pack membership, rank, and pack sanction is capable to support that nan Respondent is simply a pack member, and nan Respondent has grounded to coming grounds to rebut that assertion.”

WHILE STILL DETAINED BY ICE – ABREGO GARCIA MARRIES SUZA IN JUNE. A FEW MONTHS LATER – IN OCTOBER –  

IMMIGRATION JUDGE DAVID JONES DENIED HIS ASYLUM REQUEST –

WRITING HIS APPLICATION FOR ASYLUM CAME  “SEVEN YEARS AFTER HIS ENTRY INTO THE U.S. – WELL BEYOND THE ONE-YEAR FILING DEADLINE.” THE “APPLICATION FOR ASYLUM IS TIME-BARRED AND MUST BE DENIED.”

THE JUDGE INSTEAD GRANTS A “WITHHOLDING OF REMOVAL” FOR ABREGO GARCIA. JONES WROTE “he fears returning to his state because nan Barrio 18 pack was targeting him and threatening him pinch decease because of his family’s pupusa business.”

BUT NOTED “witholding of removal, successful opposition to asylum, confers only nan correct not to beryllium deported to a peculiar state alternatively than nan correct to stay successful nan u.s.”

ABREGO-GARCIA WAS RELEASED FROM CUSTODY AND GRANTED A WORK PERMIT.

IN DECEMBER OF THAT YEAR –

THE BOARD OF IMMIGRATION APPEALS DENY HIS ATTEMPT TO APPEAL KESSLER’S EARLIER RULING THAT HIS MS13 AFFILIATION WAS LIKELY. THE APPEALS PANEL RULING “the Immigration Judge appropriately considered allegations of pack affiliation against nan responsive successful determining that he has not demonstrated that he is not a threat to spot aliases persons.”

FAST-FORWARD TWO YEARS LATER.

ABREGO GARCIA’S WIFE – VASQUEZ SURA – FILED A TEMPORARY PROTECTIVE ORDER AGAINST HIM – SHARED BY DHS ON X –

SHE WROTE ABREGO GARCIA – HIT HER IN THE EYE AND HIT HER WITH A WORK BOOT IN 2020. IN 2021, SHE SAYS HE PUNCHED AND SCRATCHED HER EYE CAUSING HER TO BLEED, RIPPED HER SHORTS AND SHIRT OFF, AND DETAINED HER AGAINST HER WILL.

SHE WROTE IN A FILING – “At this point, I americium acrophobic to beryllium adjacent to him. I person aggregate photos/videos of really convulsive he tin beryllium and each nan bruises he has near me.”

VAZQUEZ SURA RELEASED A STATEMENT TO MEDIA FOLLOWING THE RESURFACED PROTECTIVE ORDER – SAYING – 

“After surviving home unit successful a erstwhile relationship, I acted retired of be aware aft a disagreement pinch Kilmar by seeking a protective bid successful lawsuit things escalated. Kilmar has ever been a loving partner and father, and I will proceed to guidelines by him and request justness for him.”

ANOTHER PRIOR RECORD OF ABREGO-GARCIA TO MENTION –

IN 2022 – ABREGO-GARCIA WAS PULLED OVER IN TENNESSEE SUSPECTED BY TROOPERS OF PARTAKING IN LABOR-HUMAN TRAFFICKING WITH 8 INDIVIDUALS IN THE CAR WITH HIM. TENNESSEE HIGHWAY PATROL IS TOLD BY THE FBI TO LET THEM GO AND ABREGO-GARCIA IS GIVEN A WARNING FOR AN EXPIRED DRIVER’S LICENSE. 

IN MARYLAND – STATE LAW ALLOWS LICENSES TO BE OBTAINED BY NONCITIZENS.

WHILE ABREGO-GARCIA’S RECORD HAS BEEN A MAJOR PART OF THE STORY –

IT’S THE LEGAL BATTLE THAT FOLLOWS HIS DETAINMENT BY ICE IN MARCH THAT SET OFF A SERIES OF QUESTIONS OVER HIS DEPORTATION –

IF HIS DUE PROCESS RIGHTS HAVE BEEN VIOLATED –

AND IF HE WILL RETURN TO THE U.S.

ON MARCH 12TH – ABREGO-GARCIA IS DETAINED BY ICE DURING A TRAFFIC STOP.

THREE DAYS LATER – HE WAS DEPORTED TO EL SALVADOR AS PART OF Three PLANES SENT TO THE COUNTRY’S HIGH-SECURITY PRISON.

AN ICE OFFICIAL WROTE IN A FILING “Through administrative error, Abrego-Garcia was removed from nan United States to El Salvador. This was an oversight, and nan removal was carried retired successful bully religion based connected nan beingness of a last bid of removal and Abrego-Garcia’s purported rank successful MS-13.”

ABREGO GARCIA SUED TRUMP’S DHS OVER HIS DEPORTATION – AND HIS LAWYERS WROTE DHS “…deported him to El Salvador without immoderate ineligible process whatsoever, and successful usurpation of an migration judge bid and a national statute prohibiting them from doing so.”

JUDGE PAULA XINIS RULED – (PG 2) DHS IS “ORDERED TO FACILITATE AND EFFECTUATE THE RETURN OF ABREGO GARCIA.”

AFTER APPEALS OF THE RULING – THE SUPREME COURT RULED THE ADMINISTRATION MUST “FACILITATE” HIS RETURN — BUT SAYS THE LOWER COURT MAY HAVE OVERSTEPPED IN ITS DEMAND TO “EFFECTUATE” HIS RETURN.

THE SUPREME COURT WROTE

“The bid decently requires nan Government to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s merchandise from custody successful El Salvador and to guarantee that his lawsuit is handled arsenic it would person been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”

“The intended scope of nan word “effectuate” successful nan District Court’s bid is, however, unclear, and whitethorn transcend nan District Court’s authority. The District Court should explain its directive, pinch owed respect for nan deference owed to nan Executive Branch successful nan behaviour of overseas affairs.”

THIS RULING – HAS BEEN INTERPRETED DIFFERENTLY BY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND ABREGO GARCIA’S LEGAL TEAM DUE TO THE TERMS “FACILITATE” AND “EFFECTUATE.” 

IT’S THIS LEGAL BACK AND FORTH OVER INTERPRETATIONS OF THE RULING THAT COULD LAND THE CASE BACK IN THE SUPREME COURT.

IT’S ALSO THE SAME RHETORIC WHICH HAS LED TO SUCH A PARTISAN DIVIDE OVER THE ISSUE.

DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS ARE CURRENTLY IN EL SALVADOR DEMANDING HIS RELEASE – FOLLOWING A TRIP FROM MARYLAND SENATOR CHRIS VAN HOLLEN.

THAT SAME SENTIMENT HAS LARGELY BEEN SHARED ON LEFT-LEANING NETWORKS.

“WHAT’S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND IS A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS. The president defied a ultimate tribunal order.”

WHEREAS RIGHT-LEANING NETWORKS HAVE LARGELY SHARED THE OTHER POSITION.

YOU HEAR THE CONTRAST IN INTERPRETATIONS OF THE SUPREME COURT RULING –

OVER WHETHER TRUMP IS DEFYING COURT ORDERS OR IS WITHIN LEGAL BOUNDS OF NOT RETURNING ABREGO-GARCIA.

IT’S HARD TO SUM UP A STORY IN 10 TO 15 MINUTES THAT CONSUMED THE NEW CYCLE LAST WEEK AND INTO THIS WEEK.

IT’S BEEN THE LEAD STORY MOST DAYS, WITH BOTH POLITICAL SIDES CLAIMING THE MORAL HIGH GROUND.

FROM THE LEFT – FIGHTING FOR DUE PROCESS RIGHTS OF AN INDIVIDUAL WHO WAS IN FEAR OF HIS LIFE IF RETURNED TO EL SALVADOR WHERE HE WAS SENT.

AND FROM THE RIGHT – DEPORTING SOMEONE WHO DEFIED LAWS CLAIMING THE COUNTRY IS SAFER WITHOUT HIM GIVEN HIS ALLEGED GANG TIES.

THAT SENTIMENT OF A FIGHT OVER THE HIGH GROUND – IS CAPTURED IN THE WHITE HOUSE’S POST HERE – 

SHARING AN IMAGE OF SENATOR CHRIS VAN HOLLEN MEETING WITH ABREGO-GARCIA TO CHECK ON HIS WELL-BEING AFTER HIS DEPORTATION IN ERROR.

AND TRUMP MEETING WITH THE MOTHER OF RACHEL MORIN – WHO WAS MURDERED BY A MIGRANT WHO WASN’T SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE COUNTRY –

WITH THE CAPTION “WE ARE NOT THE SAME.”

IN SUMMARY –

THIS STORY ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE AS LEGAL QUESTIONS ARE STILL LEFT TO BE ANSWERED.

AND WHILE POLITICAL LEADERS FROM THE LEFT AND RIGHT ALONG WITH PARTISAN MEDIA HAVE COME TO THEIR CONCLUSIONS IN THE CASE –

DEFINITIVE ANSWERS ARE YET TO COME AND WILL LIKELY REQUIRE ANOTHER RESPONSE FROM  THE SUPREME COURT.

NEWS OUTLETS HAVE REPORTED ON ABREGO-GARCIA UNDER DIFFERENT LIGHTS – SOME MEDIA WATCHDOG GROUPS SAY THE WORD CHOICE IS INTENTIONAL WITH THE AGENDA OF SHAPING PUBLIC PERCEPTION SURROUNDING “THE MARYLAND MAN” OR “ALLEGED MS13 GANGMEMBER.”

THIS WAS A LONG EPISODE BECAUSE IT’S JUST A VERY CONVOLUTED CASE –

FROM ABREGO GARCIA’S PAST RUN INS WITH THE LAW TO SEVERAL STEPS IN HIS IMMIGRATION COURT PROCEEDINGS – AND THEN THE LEGALITY OVER HIS DEPORTATION TO EL SALVADOR.

WE DIDN’T EVEN COVER ALL OF THE DETAILS HERE – BUT WE TRIED TO SHOW SOME OF THE MORE PREVALENT FACTS TO ONE OF THE BIGGEST STORIES OF THE NEWS CYCLE –

AND HOW THEY HAVE BEEN DISTORTED BY NEWS OUTLETS ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT.

AND THAT’S YOUR BIAS BREAKDOWN.