Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador Wednesday to check on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was mistakenly deported from the U.S. and remains in prison.
On Monday, Van Hollen requested to meet with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele while he visited Washington, D.C. The senator also said he was prepared to go to El Salvador if Abrego Garcia is not returned to the United States.
At the airport Wednesday morning, Van Hollen said he hopes to visit Abrego Garcia to “check on his well-being,” and meet with Salvadoran government officials.
“I do believe the government of El Salvador, the president of El Salvador will recognize that it’s very much in their interest to help bring him home so he can have due process,” Van Hollen said.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s deportation to El Salvador
In a letter, Van Hollen wrote that he “urgently” wants to meet with Bukele this week. He also said Abrego Garcia should never have been deported, and he should not spend another day at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia was arrested by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) in March after leaving his job as a sheetmetal apprentice in Baltimore. He was on his way home to Prince George’s County on March 12 when ICE agents arrested him without a warrant and later deported him to the notorious CECOT prison despite having a “withholding of removal” protection order that he received in 2019.
According to court documents, ICE admitted that Abrego Garcia’s deportation was due to an “administrative error,” but initially did not take action to return him to the U.S. Abrego Garcia has no criminal record and has never been charged with a crime in the U.S. or El Salvador.
Maryland Sen. Van Hollen departs for El Salvador
Sen. Van Hollen departed for El Salvador early Wednesday morning, saying he told Abrego Garcia’s family he would do everything he could to aid in the Maryland man’s return.
“My overall purpose here is to send a signal that we are not going to stop fighting for his return until he is actually released,” Van Hollen said at the airport.
The senator said he is working through the embassy to set up meetings with Salvadoran government leaders and potentially meet with Abrego Garcia, who is still in the custody of a supermax prison.
“I may be the first senator or first member of Congress to go down to El Salvador, but people are going to keep coming until he comes home,” Van Hollen said.
Sen. Van Hollen also emphasized that Abrego Garcia’s return is about allowing him to have due process.
“This is about the rule of law, this is about due process, this is about not letting people be just whisked off the street, which the Trump administration said was done in error, and I just want people to think about what that means,” Van Hollen said.
“When he gets back here, if they want to bring charges, they can do that,” Van Hollen added. “But, so far, they’ve come up with nothing. They’ve lied about him…this is a person who is here legally.”
Abrego Garcia’s alleged MS-13 ties
ICE officials argued that Abrego Garcia was a danger to the community and was an active gang member in MS-13.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys said the only evidence of alleged gang ties was a confidential witness and the fact that Abrego Garcia was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie when he was first arrested.
“Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia should never have been abducted and illegally deported, and the courts have made clear: the Administration must bring him home, now. However, since the Trump administration appears to be ignoring these court mandates, we need to take additional action,” Van Hollen said.
Court rulings on Abrego Garcia’s return
On April 1, federal judge Paula Xinis ruled that Abrego Garcia’s deportation was illegal and ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return by April 7.
The Trump administration appealed the ruling to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court, which upheld Xinis’s order. The Department of Justice then sought a Supreme Court Stay, which was granted by Chief Justice John Roberts, pausing the return deadline.
On April 10, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision, upholding Judge Xinis’s original order requiring the Trump administration to bring Abrego Garcia back to the United States.
El Salvador President: “I’m not going to do it”
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said during a visit to the White House on Monday that he won’t return Abrego Garcia to the United States.
Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters that “it’s up to El Salvador” to decide whether he is released from prison.
“How can I return him to the United States?” Bukele said. “I smuggle him into the United States or what do I do? Of course, I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous.”
According to CBS News, Bukele described Abrego Garcia as a “terrorist,” and added, “I don’t have the power over the United States.”