Rep. Ilhan Omar lashed out at a Daily Caller News Foundation reporter on Capitol Hill this week after being asked a straightforward question about Kilmar Abrego Garcia—the alleged MS-13 gang member at the center of a Democrat-led push to reverse a Trump administration deportation.
When reporter Myles Morell asked if more Democrats should be traveling to El Salvador to advocate on Garcia’s behalf, Omar didn’t offer a policy defense or even a denial—she simply snapped.
“I think you should f*ck off,” she replied, repeating the profanity when asked for clarification.
The outburst comes as Garcia, a Salvadoran national deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in March, continues to dominate headlines. His case has become a flashpoint in the national debate over illegal immigration, border enforcement, and MS-13 gang activity.
Garcia’s criminal record, according to law enforcement documents, includes human smuggling, suspected domestic violence, and confirmed ties to the violent transnational gang MS-13. He originally entered the U.S. illegally in 2011 and was ordered deported in 2019. Despite a judge granting a temporary withholding of removal at the time, Trump administration officials say that protection has expired under new national security policies that now designate MS-13 as a terrorist organization.
Nonetheless, Democrats including Sen. Chris Van Hollen and several House progressives have championed Garcia as a victim of Trump’s immigration agenda. A recent Supreme Court ruling ordered the administration to “facilitate” his return, though El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has refused to allow it, saying his government won’t “smuggle” Garcia back into the U.S.
President Trump, in a separate interview, said he “could” retrieve Garcia if absolutely necessary but made clear he sees no reason to do so. “Why would we want him back?” Trump told ABC News. “This isn’t someone who deserves anything but justice.”
Omar’s reaction highlights the political trap Democrats now find themselves in: caught between appeasing the far-left base and defending the indefensible. Garcia isn’t some harmless immigrant facing a paperwork mix-up. He’s a known associate of a brutal gang responsible for countless murders, rapes, and assaults across America.
Even inside the Democratic Party, cracks are forming. House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries reportedly told colleagues behind closed doors this week to stop dying on the “Garcia hill,” warning the case was politically toxic and wildly unpopular with the public.
Meanwhile, Trump’s team is using the saga to full effect, showcasing how a no-nonsense approach to law and order is being undercut by activist judges, open-border Democrats, and ideologues like Omar who would rather shout down reporters than face the facts.
As one senior White House official put it bluntly: “This is why we’re winning. The other side is defending gang members, and we’re defending Americans.”
Expect this case—and Omar’s meltdown—to be replayed over and over as the battle over immigration continues into 2026.
