Four House Democrats who raced to El Salvador to stand up for a deported illegal migrant with alleged criminal ties stayed in a luxury hotel with panoramic views of the country’s greenery, the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.
Democratic Reps. Maxwell Frost of Florida, Robert Garcia of California, Maxine Dexter of Oregon and Yassamin Ansari of Arizona traveled to the capital city of San Salvador to advocate for the release of reputed MS-13 gangbanger Kilmar Abrego Garcia on April 21. They stayed at the Hilton San Salvador, a luxury property situated against a picturesque backdrop of the capital city’s volcano, a source familiar with the members’ accommodations told the DCNF.
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The San Salvador hotel boasts rooms with scenic views of the capital city’s landscape and an outdoor terrace where guests can enjoy margaritas and dine on local culinary treats, including made-to-order pupusas. The hotel is described as providing a “tranquil retreat” for “those seeking comfort and convenience,” according to Hotels.com. Google rates the property as a five-star hotel.
House Republicans’ campaign arm sharply criticized the four Democrats for taking a “tropical vacation” during a congressional recess period when lawmakers are given time to spend in their district.
“House Democrats booked their tropical vacation to El Salvador in the lap of luxury,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Ben Petersen told the DCNF. “While the American people suffer the consequences of the Biden Border Crisis importing illegal immigrant crime and fentanyl, these Democrats demonstrated again they are completely out of touch with voters.”
Spokespeople for the four House Democrats did not respond to the DCNF’s multiple requests for comment to confirm their stay at the swank property.
The lawmakers appeared to conceal their luxe accommodations in content posted to social media. Ansari posted a video shot in her hotel room explaining her visit to El Salvador with only the curtains and blank wall space visible.
“I am in El Salvador because I will not stand by while our country is thrown into a constitutional crisis,” Dexter wrote on the left-leaning X alternative Bluesky on April 21. “This is a moment to act. I will not rest until due process is upheld for all.”
Dexter neglected to mention that she filmed the protest message in a space similar to that of the Hilton San Salvador’s terrace area, which the hotel boasts as the optimal space for relaxation.
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“This is on its way to a major constitutional crisis,” Garcia told CBS News in an interview that took place during the California Democrat’s junket to El Salvador on April 21. “Democrats have to continue to show up and bring attention to this issue.”
Garcia appears to be speaking in a hotel room with similarities to images of the Hilton San Salvador’s rooms available on Hotels.com. The curtains and lamp visible in Garcia’s shot match photos of the property’s hotel rooms on the property’s social media and hotel booking websites.
“I’m here [in El Salvador] on behalf of the people I represent in Orlando, Florida,” Frost said in a video posted to Instagram on April 21 that he shot on the hotel property. “Members of Congress have to come here and use the privilege we have to advocate at the highest levels to make sure that Kilmar’s brought home.”
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Frost filmed the video in a section of the Hilton San Salvador that provides views of the city’s verdant landscape. The space frequently hosts weddings, according to a review of the luxury hotel’s social media.
The four House Democrats held a press conference at the property’s outdoor wedding area with Abrego Garcia’s lawyer on April 21. A report from Migrant Insider described the briefing as “chaos” with one reporter suggesting they picked the outdoor location with views of the city’s volcano because “they wanted a nice background.” Another suggested the Democratic lawmakers were campaigning for constituents back home.
The lawmakers ultimately left El Salvador without securing a meeting with the reputed MS-13 gangbanger. A third reporter told Migrant Insider that the lawmakers’ junket to the capital city had been “pointless.”
Despite Democratic Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen traveling to El Salvador on the taxpayer’s dime, the Four House Democrats did not use taxpayer funds to pay for trip to the Central American country.
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House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer denied Democrats’ request to send an official Congressional delegation to El Salvador, which would have paid for the trip with taxpayer dollars.
“It is absurd that you both displayed active hostility for over two years toward the Committee’s oversight of the Biden Border Crisis and the consequences of millions of illegal aliens entering the country, yet now, you are seeking travel at Committee expense to meet with foreign gang members,” Comer wrote in an April 18 letter to Frost and Garcia, who both sit on the Oversight Committee. “If you also wish to meet with him, you can spend your own money.”
A spokesperson for Ansari told the DCNF that the Arizona congresswoman “self-funded” her trip to El Salvador. Spokespersons for Dexter and Garcia previously said they financed their own travel to the Central American country.
A spokesperson for Frost did not respond to the DCNF’s multiple requests for comment about how the Florida Democrat paid for the trip.
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Abrego Garcia has been accused of participating in human trafficking and being affiliated with the MS-13 gang. The Trump administration has argued they cannot facilitate the reputed gangbanger’s return to the United States despite the Supreme Court’s ruling because he is under El Salvador’s jurisdiction.
Despite Abrego Garcia’s alleged ties to a criminal migrant gang, Frost said additional Democrats are likely to visit the Central American country to advocate for his release.
“Here’s the good news — we won’t be the last [Democratic lawmakers to visit El Salvador],” Frost said in the Instagram Reel. “We won’t be the last members of Congress here. We gotta keep the pressure up.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries immediately pivoted to attacking Trump when pressed by the DCNF Monday about whether more Democrats should follow Frost’s advice and travel to El Salvador.
Andi Shae Napier contributed to reporting.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
