Rapid Response: The Case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
The First Action of The Firewall Professional Resistance Network
This is not a drill.
It’s time.
Today, we declare our first official rapid response action as a network of professionals. And it begins with one man — Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
But it does not end there.
Kilmar’s story is not a bureaucratic mistake. It is not an “unfortunate oversight.” It is the logical outcome of the MAGA regime’s deliberate dismantling of the rule of law — and its use of immigration as a staging ground for authoritarianism.
Kilmar is a union sheetmetal apprentice. A father. A husband. He was granted withholding of removal by a U.S. immigration judge — meaning the government knew his deportation could endanger his life. He did everything right: checked in annually with ICE, showed up to every appointment, worked full-time, cared for his five-year-old autistic son who cannot speak and requires intensive support.
And yet, on March 12, ICE agents stopped him after he picked up his son from the boy’s grandmother’s home. In front of his child, they told Kilmar his protected status had “changed.” They waited for his wife to arrive — then drove him away in handcuffs.
No warning. No hearing. No judge.
Just disappeared.
Two days later, he was deported to El Salvador — the very country he fled as a child to escape gang violence. The U.S. has since admitted this was an “administrative error.”
But here’s the kicker:
The United States government says it will do nothing to bring Kilmar back.
Not him. Not the others.
Because he is not the only one. There are dozens, perhaps more, who have been similarly kidnapped and disappeared under this regime's secretive use of obscure immigration statutes to carry out removals without due process or accountability.
This is not policy. This is state-sponsored abduction.
And now, Kilmar is being held in a massive, maximum-security Salvadoran prison — despite having no criminal record and no gang affiliation — cut off from his wife, his disabled son, and his life in the U.S.
We must act. Now.
We are calling on every Firewall subscriber, supporter, and ally to mobilize for the following urgent demands:
Pressure Congress to launch an investigation into the illegal deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and others like him, and to demand their safe return.
Call for a bipartisan congressional delegation to immediately travel to El Salvador and negotiate Kilmar’s release and the return of all others disappeared in this manner. (Watch this space for further instructions.)
Raise funds to support Kilmar’s family — his wife, who is now the sole caretaker of a special-needs child, and their legal efforts to free him.
Organize across professional sectors — lawyers, journalists, educators, public health professionals, artists, union members — to shine a national spotlight on this crime.
Demand accountability from ICE and DHS, and from every official who claims this is acceptable government behavior. (Watch this space for further instructions.)
This is not a symbolic action. This is a test.
If we let this stand — if we treat Kilmar’s disappearance as a paperwork glitch instead of the authoritarian escalation it is — then we will have failed before we began.
But if we rise now — if we make noise, gather resources, expose what’s happening, and force political response — we can bring Kilmar home. We can defend his family. And we can send a message to the regime:
You will not disappear people in the dark anymore. We see you. And we are organized.
📍 Next Steps
Head to the Firewall Chat for the latest updates.
Post your availability and skillset if you’re ready to help with legal, media, fundraising, or organizing work.
Share this story. Post it. Print it. Bring it to your classrooms, your office breakrooms, your union halls.
If you have personal or professional connections to members of Congress, the Salvadoran government, or media outlets — now is the time to speak up.
This week’s upcoming Substack articles will include updates on Kilmar’s case and spotlight what collective resistance looks like when it’s working in real time.
This is what we built The Firewall for.
Let’s show them what it means to hold the line.
#BringKilmarHome
#NoMoreDisappearances
#WeAreTheFirewall
He actually has WITHOLDING OF REMOVAL to EL SALVADOR, not TPS
If Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia who has immunity from deportation can be kidnapped and deported to a Salvadorian prison, then that same situation could be applied to someone else who has immunity from any and all actions. Just saying...