The Forum Daily | Wednesday, March 2, 2025https://immigrationforum.org/

**THE FORUM DAILY**
Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran husband and father of U.S. citizens with legal protections, was wrongfully transferred to El Salvador’s prison in what the federal government is referring [link removed] to as an "oversight" and "administrative error," report Daniel Zawodny and John-John Williams IV of The Baltimore Banner [link removed].  

Despite acknowledging the error, the administration argues that federal courts do not hold the authority to return Abrego Garcia to the United States, leaving him and his family in limbo, the Banner notes. 

Abrego Garcia had protected legal status, an immigration judge granted him "withholding of removal" to El Salvador in 2019. He lived in Maryland with his family and has no criminal record, according to the Banner. 

"Since our family has been separated, I have been devastated and confused. I lost my life partner, my children lost their father, and all of our family, neighbors, co-workers, and friends have been devastated due to this unjust family separation," said his wife, Jennifer in a statement through the nonprofit CASA. 

As more stories of the administration’s tangled immigration enforcement comes to light, some conservative commentators are raising questions, reports Luke Broadwater of The New York Times [link removed].  

Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Clara Villatoro, the Forum’s assistant VP of strategic communications, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Soledad Gassó Parker and Broc Murphy and Becka Wall. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected] mailto:[email protected].     

**IMPACTED COMMUNITIES** — The family of Maiker Espinoza Escalona, a makeup artist deported to El Salvador and separated from his partner and his baby is calling his ordeal an "American horror," reports Laura Romero of ABC News [link removed]. Additionally, a small rural community in New York was raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) where three Sackets Harbor Central School District students were arrested, reports Jeremy Skiba of WSYR [link removed].  

More stories on the personal impact of federal immigration policies: 

* Pastor Ralph Morris signed up to sponsor Desrivieres, a young Haitian refugee, last year where they have built a strong family bond now threatened by the termination of CHNV humanitarian parole programs. (Hannah King, Fox4 [link removed]). 

* Immigrants living in Indiana are anxious and concerned regarding what will happen to their families once they lose their temporary protections. (Noe Padilla, Indianapolis Star [link removed]) 

**FUNDING AND PRAYER** — Volunteers from The Jesuit Refugee Service in Louisiana visited Capitol Hill last week to speak with Republican representatives about reinstating funding for humanitarian aid, report Ella Armstrong and Caroline Burk of LSU Manship School News Service [link removed]. "I think it’s positive that they even took the meetings at this time," said Mary Baudouin, one of the volunteers. Separately, a Haitian community in Miami gathers to pray and commune as their homeland continues to experience violence and unrest, reports Giovanna Dell’Orto of the Associated Press [link removed]. 

**FLORIDA** — In Florida, Larry Keefe, director of the State Board of Immigration Enforcement, is pushing the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) to house and transport immigrants awaiting deportation, reports Jackie Llanos of the Florida Phoenix [link removed]. Meanwhile, during the first meeting of the State Immigration Enforcement Council, the chair, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd advocated for federal policy reforms to increase deportations, reports Aaron Parseghian of 10 Tampa Bay [link removed]. 

**HIGH COST** – During the first month of operations at Guantánamo Bay, 395 immigrants were held at the base with an estimated cost of $40 million and required 1,000 government employees, reports Carol Rosenberg of The New York Times [link removed]. The latest criticism of the base comes after a delegation of Senators visited on Friday, Rosenberg highlights. 

Thanks for reading,  

Clara 

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