Rep. Robert Garcia urged the State Department to return Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro to Brazil, where he is under investigation. (Foto: Instagram)
Rep. Robert Garcia, a Democrat seeking reelection in California, has called for Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro to be deported and demanded an explanation of whether U.S. officials helped him leave Brazil. Garcia sent a request to the U.S. State Department on Monday, Nov. 2, urging that Bolsonaro be returned to Brazil “immediately” to face justice.
In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Garcia accused President Donald Trump of applying immigration enforcement aggressively against children and working people while allowing Jair Bolsonaro’s son to enter the United States. Garcia referred to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE, and questioned the administration’s approach to Bolsonaro, who is under investigation in Brazil.
“If the president says he does not want criminals entering the United States, why allow Mr. Bolsonaro to enter?” Garcia wrote, according to the letter. He added that Bolsonaro should be sent back to Brazil immediately to answer to the courts. The letter makes Garcia’s demand and accusation; it does not establish that U.S. authorities assisted Bolsonaro’s departure.
Garcia also requested records concerning the role of U.S. diplomacy in Bolsonaro’s trip. He asked for communications among the White House, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, Trump adviser Jason Miller and Argentine officials regarding the Brazilian senator’s travel. The request seeks documents that could clarify what U.S. and Argentine officials discussed, rather than asserting that the communications show wrongdoing.
The California lawmaker additionally asked for the legal basis for issuing visas to Bolsonaro and his family. He sought records about support for the Brazilian politician’s campaign this year from the Rockbridge Network, a conservative group linked to U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance. Garcia’s letter adds to other documents sent to the State Department concerning Bolsonaro’s arrival in the United States.
Bolsonaro left Brazil on Oct. 27 with his family, traveling across the border into Argentina before taking a private flight to the United States. The departure came two days after he lost the 2026 election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court had ordered the seizure of Bolsonaro’s passports and barred him from leaving the country.
The court’s order followed a recommendation from Brazil’s Federal Police, which said Bolsonaro could leave Brazil while under investigation for alleged corruption, money laundering and foreign-exchange evasion. The allegations and the police assessment were cited in the decision; the source does not report a conviction.
