On the first day of his visit to El Salvador, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen found himself unable to meet or speak with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland resident who was wrongfully deported to the country. However, Van Hollen did manage to meet with El Salvador’s vice president.
The situation surrounding Abrego Garcia has led to various legal proceedings, during which a federal judge ordered the government to bring him back to the U.S. from the CECOT supermax prison in El Salvador.
The case was escalated by the Trump administration to the Supreme Court, which also mandated the administration to help facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return.
Sen. Van Hollen’s trip to El Salvador was motivated by his commitment to check on Abrego Garcia’s welfare and to engage with Salvadoran officials, after assuring Abrego Garcia’s family that he would work towards his release.
Maryland senator’s aspirations to connect with Abrego Garcia
Sen. Van Hollen expressed his desire to meet with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele. Instead, he had a meeting with Vice President Félix Ulloa on Wednesday. During this meeting, Van Hollen noted that Ulloa mentioned needing additional time to organize an in-person meeting between Abrego Garcia and the senator.
When the senator proposed to return next week, he recounted Ulloa’s response that he could not assure that a meeting would take place. Additionally, Van Hollen was denied a phone call with Abrego Garcia, with Ulloa suggesting that the U.S. Embassy manage such requests.
“We have an unjust situation here,” Van Hollen stated during a livestreamed press briefing. “The Trump administration is misrepresenting the facts regarding Abrego Garcia. The American courts have examined the details.”
The wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
In his update, Sen. Van Hollen reiterated that Abrego Garcia should not have been deported, as he had received a “withholding of removal” order from an immigration judge.
“Abrego Garcia is legally present in the U.S.,” Van Hollen affirmed. “Years ago, an immigration judge determined that returning him to El Salvador would jeopardize his life.”
Abrego Garcia was apprehended by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) in March while leaving his job in Baltimore, Maryland, and heading home to Prince George’s County. He was deported to El Salvador on March 15, along with over 200 other migrants, whom the Trump administration claimed had gang affiliations.
ICE later acknowledged that Abrego Garcia was deported due to an “administrative error,” yet they did not take the necessary steps to return him to the U.S.
Allegations of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s ties to MS-13
The Trump administration has alleged that Abrego Garcia is affiliated with the MS-13 gang, a claim that both his attorney and family refute. He also possesses no criminal record in any country.
“Abrego Garcia’s situation is not connected to MS-13,” Sen. Van Hollen asserted. “If one were to listen to President Trump and his administration, it might seem that U.S. courts have established that Mr. Abrego Garcia is part of MS-13, but that is not the case. Recently, a U.S. federal court judge confirmed that the Trump administration lacked evidence to support such a claim.”
Reasons for El Salvador’s inability to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S.
During his remarks in El Salvador, Sen. Van Hollen questioned why Abrego Garcia remains imprisoned at CECOT and whether the government has any substantiation for his alleged gang affiliations.
“The Salvadoran government has no proof that he belongs to MS-13, so why is he still being held at CECOT?” the senator inquired.
According to Van Hollen, the vice president indicated that the Trump administration is financing El Salvador to keep Abrego Garcia detained at CECOT.
When further pressed on why El Salvador could not release Abrego Garcia, Vice President Ulloa referred to a statement made by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele during his visit to the White House, asserting that the country cannot “smuggle” Abrego Garcia back into the U.S.
