Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley was criticized by his "pissed" constituents during a town hall in Fort Madison this week who demanded why he hasn’t taken stronger action to hold President Donald Trump and his administration accountable as tensions escalate with the Supreme Court.
Those in attendance were galvanized by the Trump administration’s refusal to comply with a unanimous Supreme Court order instructing the White House to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Garcia was mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador known for its reputation for torture.
One man asked:
“The framers of the Constitution said that every person — not citizen— every person within the jurisdiction of the United States has due process. … We would like to know what you, as the Congress, who are supposed to rein in this dictator, what are you going to do? Why won’t you do your job, senator?”
Another said:
“You took an oath, ‘I do solemnly swear and affirm,’ do you remember that, sir? Will you act upon your oath?”
You can watch what happened in the video below.
When one constituent asked if they can "ignore a court order" like Trump ignored the Supreme Court and another yelled, “Trump’s not obeying the Supreme Court," Grassley dismissed their concerns, saying it would be "preposterous" to demand El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to comply:
“El Salvador is an independent country. The president of that country is not subject to our U.S. Supreme Court."
Nothing he said could cut through the palpable anger of those in attendance and you can watch what happened in the video below.
Many have echoed their criticisms of Grassley.
Garcia, a Salvadoran national who arrived in the U.S. in 2012, was labeled a threat in 2019 due to an alleged connection to the MS-13 gang. He spent months in detention before an immigration judge found he had a credible fear of persecution—not from MS-13, but from a rival group, Barrio 18, which he said had been extorting his family.
Following that ruling, Abrego Garcia was released and reunited with his wife and son, both U.S. citizens. However, without warning, immigration authorities detained and deported him last month. He has consistently denied any affiliation with MS-13.
The Justice Department has since acknowledged that his removal violated a 2019 court order, calling it an error. Nonetheless, officials maintain they still consider him a threat based on the original allegations.
According to court documents, he was picking up his son from his grandmother’s home last month when immigration officers detained him, claiming his status had changed. His attorneys say Abrego Garcia has no criminal record in the U.S. or elsewhere.
His wife eventually recognized him in news footage of one of the deportation flights ordered by Trump under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798—a rarely used law invoked only three other times in history.
The Trump administration, via Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, continued to push unsubstantiated claims that Abrego Garcia is a "terrorist."
