MSNBC panel rages at Gavin Newsom for calling deportation of MS-13 member a ‘distraction’

MSNBC panelists raged at Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom Sunday for his recent statements about the deportation of an MS-13 gang member.

Newsom has enraged his own party in recent days after he characterized the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia as a “distraction” from tariffs and the economy during a Wednesday press conference. Former Republican Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh, who called Newsom’s remark “bullcrap,” said the Democrats are expressing the right amount of outrage over the alleged lack of due process given to Garcia.

“I think it was Gavin Newsom earlier this week said, ‘ah, it’s a distraction, we should be talking about tariffs and the economy. Bull crap,” Walsh said. “If you can’t fight with everything you’ve got about due process and defending the Constitution, then go home.”

Host Jonathan Capehart criticized Democrats for believing that the public should focus on one particular issue.

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“I completely agree and I am so tired of Democrats saying ‘you’ve got to focus on this one particular issue.’ The entire house is on fire and you’re gonna say, ‘oh, we should save the sofa.’ No! You gotta do everything you can to save everything and I cannot disagree more strongly with [Republican Louisiana] Senator John Kennedy when he said, ‘this is just rage bait.’ Oh, that guy,” Capehart said.

While the Trump administration admitted that the deportation of Garcia was a clerical error, they have stood by their decision to keep him in El Salvador due to his association with MS-13 and past deportation orders issued by an immigration judge in 2019. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, an Obama-appointed judge, ordered the administration to quickly effectuate Garcia’s return to the U.S., though the Supreme Court blocked the order in an April 7 ruling.

The high court later that the administration should “facilitate” the return of Garcia, and directed the lower court to clarify its order. In response to the order, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele confirmed in the Oval Office on April 14 that he will not return Garcia to the U.S.

Democrat Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador to meet with Garcia Wednesday. During a press conference in Washington, D.C. Friday, the senator accused the Trump administration of “defying” the Supreme Court’s orders, though the El Salvadoran president has already said he will not return Garcia to the U.S.

In response to Newsom, Van Hollen said on NBC News’ “Meet that Press” Sunday that anyone who does not defend due process or the Constitution should not lead.

“It’s about protecting the constitutional rights of everybody who resides in the United States,” Van Hollen said. “It’s very clear that the president, Trump administration are blatantly, flagrantly, disagreeing with, defying the order from the Supreme Court.”

Newsom said in a Friday post on X that Americans should not be “distracted” by the Trump administration’s alleged refusal to “obey court rulings” and the “rule of law.”

The Department of Justice released documents Wednesday demonstrating Garcia’s MS-13 membership, along with other crimes. He was suspected of being engaged in human trafficking by a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer who arrested him in December 2022, though former President Joe Biden’s FBI requested that Garcia and the passengers in the car all be released, the Tennessee Star first reported.

Court filings also found that Garcia’s wife sought a domestic violence restraining order against him in 2021, claiming he “punched, scratched and ripped off her shirt.”

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