Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland met with Kilmar Ábrego García in El Salvador. García was deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration in March, despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation. Van Hollen shared a photo of the meeting on X and also called García’s wife to pass along a message of love. He did not provide an update on García’s status, whose attorneys are fighting for his return to the US.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele also posted images of the meeting and commented that García is “miraculously risen from the ‘death camps’ and ‘torture,’ now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!” Van Hollen was denied entry into a high-security prison in El Salvador while trying to check on García’s wellbeing and push for his release. He said that his car was stopped by soldiers at a checkpoint, despite other cars being allowed to proceed.
Both Donald Trump and Bukele have stated that there is no basis to send García back, despite the Trump administration calling his deportation a mistake and the US Supreme Court urging the administration to facilitate his return. Trump officials claim García has ties to the MS-13 gang, but García’s attorneys say there is no evidence and that he has never been charged with any crime related to gang activity.
Van Hollen’s trip has become a partisan issue in the US, with Democrats criticizing Trump’s disregard for the courts and Republicans arguing that García’s deportation is part of a larger effort to reduce crime. The White House press secretary held a news conference with the mother of a Maryland woman killed by a fugitive from El Salvador in 2023. Van Hollen met with the Vice-President of El Salvador, who said the government cannot return García to the United States. He also tried to visit García at the prison, but was denied entry.
Van Hollen stated that García has not had any contact with his family or lawyers and there has been no information on his health and wellbeing. He believes García should be able to have contact with his lawyers under international law. Van Hollen also said he will not give up until García’s due process rights are respected and that more lawmakers will visit El Salvador. Some House Democrats and Senator Cory Booker are also considering visiting El Salvador.
While Van Hollen was denied entry, some House Republicans have visited the gang prison in support of the Trump administration’s efforts. They praised the prison for housing the country’s most brutal criminals and expressed support for Trump’s efforts to secure the homeland. The fight over García’s situation has also been played out in contentious court filings, with the government refusing to disclose their plans for his repatriation.
Since March, El Salvador has accepted over 200 Venezuelan immigrants from the US, who have been accused of gang activity and violent crimes. These individuals have been placed in the country’s maximum-security gang prison. Human rights groups have accused Bukele’s government of subjecting those jailed to torture and mistreatment, but officials deny these allegations.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/17/chris-van-hollen-kilmar-abrego-garcia-el-salvador
