Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin took aim at former deportee Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Saturday after seeing a short TikTok clip in which the El Salvadoran, who once found himself at the center of a Trump‑era mass‑deportation push, was lip‑synching a Spanish‑language song. In her post, McLaughlin lamented that “making TikToks” was happening while DHS was “under gag order by an activist judge.”
The gag order, issued by an Obama‑appointed federal judge, had barred DHS and other Trump officials from publicly discussing Abrego’s human‑smuggling case. The order was later narrowed after prosecutors noted it covered nearly 300,000 DHS employees.
Abrego has repeatedly sought to quiet the public criticism he says threatens his right to a fair trial. According to Politico, he filed motions arguing the gag order limited his ability to present a defense.
Abrego’s case has attracted national attention since March, when he was deported back to El Salvador despite a 2019 court order—a move the Trump administration later described as an “administrative error.” Upon reentering the United States, he was immediately taken into federal custody on human‑smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop. The administration accused him of being a member of MS‑13, a claim he denies.
This week, a federal judge annulled Abrego’s scheduled trial and set a hearing to examine whether prosecutors pursued the human‑smuggling charges vindictively. US District Judge Paula Xinis also extended a temporary restraining order that prevents the Trump administration from detaining him again without a final removal order, thereby keeping the earlier order that secured his release from ICE custody in effect.
Neither DHS nor Abrego’s defense team responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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