1. United States
2. Alaska
3. Letter

I write to you with grave concern over the Trump administration’s open defiance of a unanimous Supreme Court order in the case of Kilmar Abrego García. This is not just a legal crisis. It is a constitutional emergency. When a sitting administration disregards a direct order from the highest court in the land, it tears at the very fabric of the rule of law. No president, no administration, has the authority to override the Constitution, and yet that is exactly what is happening. The Court ordered the U.S. government to facilitate the return of Mr. Abrego García, a resident of Maryland, after ruling that his deportation to El Salvador was unlawful. Instead of complying, the administration has dismissed the ruling, claiming it has no obligation to retrieve him because he is now in the custody of a foreign government. This rationale sets a chilling precedent that the executive branch can forcibly remove anyone citizen or noncitizen and evade judicial accountability simply by outsourcing imprisonment to a foreign regime. What makes this even more horrifying is where Mr. Abrego García has been sent. He is currently imprisoned in El Salvador’s CECOT facility, infamous for its inhumane conditions. The international community has documented torture, overcrowding, denial of medical care, and even extrajudicial killings in that facility. By refusing to act, the U.S. government is now complicit in his suffering. Worse still, Donald Trump has publicly floated the idea of sending American citizens convicted of crimes to these same foreign prisons, a grotesque abuse of power that defies the Eighth Amendment and common decency. This is not just about one man’s case. It is about whether we still live in a democracy governed by laws or whether we have entered a new era of authoritarianism where power is unchecked, courts are ignored, and people can be disappeared into black-site prisons overseas. This echoes the darkest chapters of history, not the proudest traditions of American justice. Congress must respond with urgency. This moment demands not just words but action. Investigate this administration’s obstruction of justice. Reinforce the authority of the Supreme Court. Pass laws that ensure no person regardless of citizenship status can be expelled from due process or handed over to regimes known for human rights abuses. Make it absolutely clear that any president who violates the Constitution will be held to account. The legitimacy of our government depends on your response. Inaction in the face of authoritarian defiance is complicity. Do not let this become the new normal.