House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Friday rejected a request from two Democratic committee members that the committee fund their travel to El Salvador to meet with a deported migrant.

Democratic Reps. Maxwell Frost of Florida and Robert Garcia of California asked the committee on Tuesday to fund their travel to visit Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who was deported by the Trump administration over allegations he was connected to the violent gang MS-13. 

Comer rebuked the two lawmakers, claiming that it was "absurd" they were requesting the committee pay for the travel when they have been "hostile" to the committee's oversight of the border crisis.

"I write in response to your letter of April 15, 2025 requesting that I approve, from the Committee’s budget, official travel for you both to visit the country of El Salvador to meet with a foreign MS-13 gang member whose wife accused him of crimes and who is strongly suspected of human trafficking," he wrote in a letter shared with Just The News. 

"If you ... wish to meet with him, you can spend your own money," Comer continued. "But I will not approve a single dime of taxpayer funds for use on the excursion you have requested."

Abrego Garcia has emerged as a focal point in the legal debate surrounding immigration and deportation. He entered the U.S. illegally but was shielded from deportation by a judge in 2019, over concerns about his safety. He had been living in Maryland until his arrest and subsequent deportation. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.