The Libertarian Party of Travis County, Texas, has adopted a resolution urging the impeachment of President Donald Trump, accusing him of making “lawless, dictatorial pronouncements” that breach the constitutional separation of powers.
The resolution pointed to the Trump administration’s failure to secure the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from a prison in El Salvador, threats to send American citizens to foreign prisons, and the deportation of legal U.S. residents “based on their political views.”
Newsweek reached out to both the Libertarian Party of Travis County and the national Libertarian Party for comments via email on Wednesday outside of regular business hours.
Significance
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has maintained its inability to facilitate Garcia’s release. Garcia, a 29-year-old father of two, was deported to an El Salvadoran prison in what the Justice Department described as an “administrative error.” The administration also revoked visas for foreign students it claims hold extremist beliefs, which many contest.
During a press conference on Monday with El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, Trump expressed support for sending some U.S. citizens with criminal records to El Salvador, stating, “You gotta build about five more places. It’s not big enough.”
In March, Staffan Lindberg, director of the Varieties of Democracy project at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, indicated that he might not classify the United States as a full democracy as of 2026.
Key Information
On Tuesday, the Libertarian Party of Travis County passed a resolution calling for “the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump and his removal from office.”
The resolution contended that the president has taken “an oath of office to ‘preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States’ without any clear intention of fulfilling that oath.”
The document highlighted the case of Garcia, who was deported from Maryland to El Salvador in early April following an incident the Justice Department labeled as an “administrative error.”
Garcia is currently held in a high-security prison in El Salvador despite lacking any criminal convictions. The U.S. government alleges he has ties to the M3-13 crime gang, but Garcia’s wife refutes these claims, and his attorneys assert that the “U.S. government has never provided any evidence to support this unfounded allegation.”
On April 10, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Trump administration must “facilitate” Garcia’s return to the United States. However, Trump’s team stated on Monday that they lacked the authority to bring him back, to which Bukele responded, “How can I return him to the United States? Like if I smuggle him into the United States? Of course I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous.”
Bukele added, “we’re not very fond of releasing terrorists,” despite Garcia not being convicted of any crimes in either the U.S. or El Salvador.
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The Libertarian Party of Travis County’s resolution also claims that Trump “stated that he wants to send U.S. citizens to foreign prisons where they would certainly have no due process of law.” This remark followed his expression of support for sending U.S. criminals to El Salvador during his press conference with Bukele on Monday.
As reported by Inside Higher Ed, at least 147 foreign students have had their U.S. study visas revoked by the Trump administration, including individuals involved in pro-Palestinian activism. This issue was also raised in the Libertarian impeachment resolution, which stated that the administration had targeted “legal U.S. residents for deportation because of their political beliefs.”
Among those facing deportation is Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, whom the Department of Homeland Security accused of “engaging in activities in support of Hamas,” although no evidence has been provided for this claim.
Trump survived two impeachment attempts during his first term in office.
Public Reactions
The Libertarian Party of Travis County resolution states: “Whereas, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, affirmed by a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court, ruled that the Government must facilitate Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.
“Whereas, President Donald J. Trump and members of his administration admit that an administrative error led to Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s deportation to an El Salvadoran prison, yet they claim there is nothing they can do about it, when in truth, they choose not to act.
“Whereas, President Donald J. Trump and his administration have violated the constitutional rights of numerous legal U.S. residents by denying them due process of law in challenging deportation orders.
“Whereas, President Donald J. Trump and his administration have targeted legal U.S. residents for deportation based on their political beliefs, in contravention of the First Amendment.
“Whereas, President Donald J. Trump has misused the Alien Act of 1798 and other laws to effectuate the removal of legal residents, despite knowing these laws pertain to wartime measures, not law enforcement.
“Whereas, President Donald J. Trump expressed a desire to send U.S. citizens to foreign prisons where they would lack due process of law.
“Whereas, no individual in the U.S. appears to be shielded from President Donald J. Trump’s unlawful, dictatorial actions issued as Executive Orders, which he claims carry the force of law, yet violate the constitutional separation of powers.
“Whereas, the Libertarian Party advocates for upholding the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, and for favoring the rule of law over tyranny and dictatorship.
“And Whereas, President Donald J. Trump took an oath of office to ‘preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States’ without any evident intention of doing so.
“Therefore, be it resolved, that the Libertarian Party of Travis County demands the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump and his removal from office.”
Next Steps
It remains uncertain whether this resolution will stand alone or whether other branches of the Libertarian Party will pursue similar initiatives. The Libertarian Party asserts that it is the third largest political organization in the United States, and Trump spoke at the Libertarian National Convention in May 2024, although some attendees booed him.
