TIRRC Condemns ICE Detention of Kilmar Abrego Garcia as "Authoritarian Playbook" in Action
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August 25, 2025
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Video of Selah Torralba's Statement in Maryland
TIRRC Condemns ICE Detention of Kilmar Abrego Garcia as "Authoritarian Playbook" in Action
The Detention of Abrego Garcia Represents "Tens of Thousands of Stories" of Rights Violations Across the Country
NASHVILLE— This morning, Selah Torralba, Advocacy Manager for the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition, spoke at a press conference in Maryland, ahead of the ICE Check-in appointment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in support of due process and justice for all. Right after the press conference Kilmar was once again detained by ICE.
Selah's response to the detainment and arrest of Kilmar Abrego Garcia states, “This presidential administration is doubling down on the oldest trick in the authoritarian playbook: demonizing immigrants in order to justify steamrolling our rights while consolidating power for themselves—putting armed soldiers on our cities’ streets, taking money from our schools and healthcare benefits to instead give to the private prison corporations they profit from, and throwing community members like Kilmar into foreign prisons without due process.
“Throughout our collective histories, progress has been made because the people have risen to confront injustice and demand true liberation. Kilmar's story represents tens of thousands of stories across the country of those whose rights we’re fighting to uphold. And we're here today because the struggle for freedom cannot be waged alone. We will keep fighting for a system that strengthens our communities, not imprisons them. We will keep fighting for a society where your humanity isn’t based on who you are, where you’re from, or what you’ve had to do to survive. And we will keep fighting for justice for Kilmar, because justice for Kilmar is justice for all.”
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The Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) is a statewide, immigrant and refugee-led collaboration whose mission is to build power, amplify our voices, and organize communities to advocate for our rights in order to build a stronger, more inclusive Tennessee where people of all nationalities, immigration statuses, and racial identities can belong and thrive. Since its founding in 2001, TIRRC has grown from a grassroots network of community leaders into one of the most diverse and effective coalitions of its kind, a model for emerging immigrant rights organizations in the Southeast and throughout the United States.