Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen is traveling to El Salvador on Wednesday, as Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who officials admitted was mistakenly deported, remains detained in a prison there.
On Monday, Van Hollen requested to meet with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele while he visited Washington, D.C. this week. The senator also said he was prepared to go to El Salvador if Abrego Garcia is not returned to the United States.
Van Hollen said he hopes to visit Abrego Garcia and “check on his well-being.”
“Following his abduction and unlawful deportation, U.S. federal courts have ordered the safe return of my constituent Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States,” Van Hollen said in a statement. “It should be a priority of the U.S. government to secure his safe release, which is why tomorrow I am traveling to El Salvador. My hope is to visit Kilmar and check on his well-being and to hold constructive conversations with government officials around his release. We must urgently continue working to return Kilmar safely home to Maryland.”
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 ICE in March after leaving his job in Baltimore, according to officials. He was deported to a Salvadoran 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.
ICE officials argued that Abrego Garcia was a danger to the community and was an active gang member in MS-13.
According to Abrego Garcia’s attorneys, the only evidence of his alleged gang ties stems from a confidential witness and the fact that he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and a hoodie at the time of his arrest.
“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. “That’s why I’ve requested to meet with President Bukele during his trip to the United States, and – if Kilmar is not home by midweek – I plan to travel to El Salvador this week to check on his condition and discuss his release.”
Court rulings on Abrego Garcia’s return
On April 1, 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 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 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 to the United States.”
