Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker weighs possible boycott of El Salvador over Kilmar Abrego Garcia's detention
The state of Illinois is considering cutting business ties with El Salvador in response to how that country is working with the Trump administration to hold migrants in prison after they were deported from the U.S.
Gov. JB Pritzker ordered a series of steps that could eventually see Illinois boycott companies owned or controlled by the Salvadorian government.
The governor specifically cited El Salvador president Nayib Bukele's refusal to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. The Maryland man was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, and the Trump administration has refused to comply with three different court orders, including an order from the Supreme Court, to return him to the U.S. so he can receive due process regarding the Trump administration's claim that he is an MS-13 gang member.
While Abrego Garcia has been transferred out of CECOT, the country's notorious supermax prison, he remains held in another detention center in El Salvador, and Bukele also has refused to release Abrego Garcia and send him back to the U.S.
Pritzker called Abrego Garcia's deportation an unconstitutional violation of due process.
"The United States Constitution guarantees due process. We are witnessing Donald Trump erode our fundamental Constitutional rights in real time, and we must fight to restore the balance of power," Pritzker said. "The State of Illinois will stand up for the Rule of Law and do everything in our power stop the Trump Administration from ripping apart our most basic rights."
The governor ordered several state departments to review and report on their business dealings with companies owned or controlled by the Salvadorian government.
He's also requesting that the state's various public employee pension funds review their investments to identify any funds managed, owned, or controlled by the Salvadoran government; established or organized under the laws of El Salvador; or whose principal place of business is in El Salvador.
Pritzker said the pension funds' reviews would allow state lawmakers to determine if they should take legislative action to prohibit the pension funds from investing in Salvadorian companies.
The governor also ordered the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to analyze any trade deals with El Salvador before the state makes any decisions on taking action that could have an economic impact on El Salvador.
