‘Solidarity is more than a slogan. It’s a bond. One that doesn’t break across union lines, immigration status, or national borders.’
Editor’s note: See original publishing of this story here. Update: The Supreme Court ordered Trump officials to help return the wrongly deported man. He has been in legal limbo in the U.S. since, with government trying to deport him to Liberia, a county he has never known and where he fears repression. He has argued for deportation to Costa Rica, a country that has agreed to accept him.
There are times when the cruelty of our immigration system meets the hostility toward organized labor in a way that makes it impossible to stay quiet.
The recent deportation of union brother Kilmar Abrego Garcia is one of those moments—a gut punch to the labor movement, a slap in the face to every worker who dares to organize, and a chilling reminder that anti-worker forces never sleep.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a father, a husband, a member of the SMART union, [International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers] and a working man who—like so many others—helped build the infrastructure we rely on every day. He wasn’t hiding in shadows or avoiding responsibility. He was in the middle of securing permanent residency and working legally when he was ripped from his family and his union job, deported by ICE under the Trump administration in one of its last venomous acts.
Let that sink in: a worker in the middle of a legal immigration process was deported anyway. That’s not law and order. That’s targeted cruelty.
And make no mistake—this wasn’t random. It fits a disturbing pattern we’ve seen before: when immigrant workers organize, speak up for safer conditions, and claim their rightful place in the labor movement, they often find themselves targeted. While we can’t say with certainty that Kilmar was deported because he was a union member, we know the system has long been used to intimidate immigrant labor and chill organizing efforts. His deportation happened in the context of an administration that made both union-busting and immigrant scapegoating central to its agenda. That’s not coincidence. That’s coordinated neglect—and sometimes, outright malice.
A unionized immigrant worker threatens no one—except those who profit from silence, fear, and exploitation.
The deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia is not just an immigration issue. It’s a labor issue. It’s a civil rights issue. It’s an American issue. And we have to treat it as such.
Well, I’ve got news for them: Kilmar does belong here. He belongs here because he earned it through his labor, his membership in the SMART union, and his place in a family and a community. And more importantly, this is his home because we say so. We, the workers. We, the unionists. We, the ones who build the roads, drive the buses, teach the kids, and keep the lights on.
SMART is demanding his return. So are his coworkers. And so are we. This moment demands more than statements—it demands action. Loud, angry, unflinching action. We must apply pressure on the Trump administration and every relevant agency to bring Kilmar back and make this right. Because if the state can disappear one union worker, it can do it to any of us. And we will not sit back and let that precedent stand.
Solidarity is more than a slogan. It’s a bond. One that doesn’t break across union lines, immigration status, or national borders. Kilmar may not be a member of my union—but he is our brother. And if we let this stand, we betray him and ourselves.
Bring Kilmar home.
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