Why was a man who was legally protected from deportation sitting in one of the world's most notorious prisons in El Salvador? This week on Just Asking Questions, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Glenn Greenwald returns to discuss a case that cuts to the heart of American constitutionalism and due process. Greenwald, known for his reporting on the National Security Agency and his founding role at The Intercept, has become one of the most consistent civil libertarian voices in politics. He joins Liz Wolfe and Zach Weissmueller to break down how and why the Trump administration ignored a court order to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and why this defiance should concern everyone, regardless of their politics.
But this episode goes beyond one case. It's about the creeping normalization of lawless executive power—from the misuse of antiterror labels, to the fast-growing deportation dragnet sweeping up even lawful residents, to proposed federal overhauls of speech and campus expression.
Abrego Garcia was moved from El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, to a lower security facility in Santa Ana on April 20.