Homeland Security’s Tricia McLaughlin Criticizes Kilmar Abrego Garcia for ‘Making TikToks’ After Release

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin criticized illegal migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia for “making TikToks” after a judge ordered he be released from detention, while DHS was placed “under” a gag order.

In a post on X, McLaughlin noted that justice in the United States “ceases to function when its arbiters silence law enforcement and give megaphones to those who oppose” the nation’s legal system. McLaughlin’s post came in response to a post from conservative activist Benny Johnson, which shared a video of Abrego Garcia singing along to a Spanish song.

“So we at @DHSgov, are under gag order by an activist judge and Kilmar Abrego Garcia is making TikToks,” McLaughlin said. “American justice ceases to function when its arbiters silence law enforcement and give megaphones to those who oppose our legal system.”

On December 11, Judge Paula Xinis, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, ordered Abrego Garcia be released from the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Xinis stated:

Respondents SHALL notify Abrego Garcia’s counsel of the exact time and location of his release no fewer than four hours prior to releasing him, and notify the Court of the status of Abrego Garcia’s release by email to chambers no later than 5:00 p.m. today, Thursday, December 11, 2025.

Democrat lawmakers and the news media have rallied around Abrego Garcia, who they have described as being a “Maryland Man,” after his arrest and deportation to El Salvador earlier in the year.

Earlier this year, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed there was “credible intelligence proving” that Abrego Garcia was “involve in human trafficking” and that he “was a member, actually a leader, of the brutal MS-13 gang.”

“The administration maintains the position that this individual — who was deported to El Salvador, and will not be returning to our country, was a member of the brutal and vicious MS-13 gang. That is fact number one,” Leavitt said at the time. “Fact number two, we also have credible intelligence proving that this individual was involved in human trafficking. And, fact number three, this individual was a member, actually a leader, of the brutal MS-13 gang — which this President has designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.”

Abrego Garcia has also faced accusations that he has beaten his wife on various occasions, and that he worked as a human trafficker.