Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen managed to secure a visit Thursday with a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador — a meeting that occurred hours after the Central American government had blocked his access to a notorious prison.
Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador to check on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported last month despite a judge’s ruling that he be allowed to remain in the U.S. because he faced a risk of being targeted by a gang in his homeland.
Both the Maryland senator and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele posted photos on social media showing Van Hollen meeting with Abrego Garcia.
“I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar,” Van Hollen wrote in his post. “Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.”
Bukele posted a message that mocked the widespread concern about Abrego Garcia in a prison known for harsh conditions.
“Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the “death camps” & “torture”, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!,” Bukele said.
It was the second day of Van Hollen’s trip, which he said was to check in on Abrego Garcia’s health. In previous attempts to see the man he’d been blocked from the prison even though Republican members of Congress had been allowed to enter the facility.
In the photos, Abrego Garcia is dressed in civilian clothes, and not the white jumpsuits of prisoners in the Salvadoran prison where the U.S. has sent dozens of men deported from the country.
Abrego Garcia’s wife, a U.S. citizen, issued a statement thanking the senator and community groups for their efforts on the family’s behalf and still hopes for her husband’s return.
“My children and my prayers have been answered,” she said. “The efforts of my family and community in fighting for justice are being heard, because I now know that my husband is alive. God is listening, and the community is standing strong.”
Trump administration officials have alleged that Abrego Garcia, who entered the U.S. without legal status, is a member of the MS-13 gang but have not provided any evidence and a government lawyer conceded that he was deported in an administrative error.
President Donald Trump and Bukele have brushed aside calls to bring Abrego Garcia back to the United States, in the face of a Supreme Court ruling requiring the White House to facilitate his return. The White House has contended that it doesn’t have the authority to compel El Salvador’s government to release him.
