CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO) Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced the state will take punitive actions against the country of El Salvador for holding Kilmar Abrego Garcia in custody.

“The United States Constitution guarantees due process. We are witnessing Donald Trump erode our fundamental Constitutional rights in real time, and we must fight to restore the balance of power,” said Pritzker. “The State of Illinois will stand up for the Rule of Law and do everything in our power (to) stop the Trump Administration from ripping apart our most basic rights.”

Garcia, an accused MS-13 gang member, was deported from Maryland to his home country in March, despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to El Salvador due to fear of persecution.

A federal judge said Tuesday that the Trump administration is ignoring court orders, obstructing the legal process, and acting in “bad faith” by refusing to provide information about the steps it has taken, if any, to free Garcia from an El Salvador prison.

The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration nearly two weeks ago to facilitate Garcia’s return to the U.S. from a Salvadoran prison, rejecting the White House’s claim that it couldn’t retrieve him after mistakenly deporting him.

Trump administration officials have pushed back, arguing it is up to El Salvador, though the president of El Salvador has also said he lacks the power to return Abrego Garcia. 

Pritzker has asked the Illinois State Board of Investment, the State Universities Retirement System and the Teachers’ Retirement System to review any investments in companies controlled by El Salvador, with the purpose of withholding investments in those companies.

The governor is also directing the Illinois Department of Central Management Services to identify state contracts with companies controlled by El Salvador, with the purpose of stopping them.

Additionally, Pritzker wants the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Office of Trade and Investment to send in an analysis of the scale of trade El Salvador has with Illinois.

The action comes as the outspoken Illinois governor positions himself in global affairs, which have included signing trade agreements with the State of Mexico and the United Kingdom, efforts that some say point to a possible 2028 presidential run.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.