Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen jets to El Salvador to aid Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Apr 16, 2025

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Sen. Chris Van Hollen flew to El Salvador on Wednesday to push for the release and return to the U.S. of mistakenly deported immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

The Maryland Democrat said he hopes to see Garcia at a notorious megaprison to check on his well-being and press Salvadoran officials to send him back stateside after the Supreme Court ordered the U.S. government to “facilitate” his return.

“I look forward to meeting with the team at the U.S. embassy to discuss the release of Mr. Abrego Garcia,” Van Hollen tweeted after arriving in the capital of San Salvador. “I also hope to meet with Salvadoran officials and with Kilmar himself. He was illegally abducted and needs to come home.”

It was not immediately clear if Salvadoran officials would meet with Van Hollen or allow him to visit Garcia at the prison, which is known for strict security and harsh conditions.

The lawmaker’s trip comes a day after a federal judge again rebuked the Trump administration for failing to take any steps to comply with her order to bring Garcia back to the U.S.

District Court Judge Paula Xinis ordered officials to testify under oath about what if any steps they have taken to “facilitate” Garcia’s return as the Supreme Court ordered in a unanimous ruling.

The Trump administration says it considers the order to only require it to admit Garcia if he shows up at a border crossing or perhaps physically transporting him, not pushing for his release.

El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele said he has no plans to release or return Garcia during a chummy White House meeting with Donald Trump on Monday.

The U.S. has sent Garcia along with hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador without any due process, citing the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. It agreed to pay $6 million to imprison them for a year.

Trump breezily told Bukele he hopes to expand the program to include “homegrowns,” referring to convicted or alleged criminals who are U.S. citizens, although legal experts say that would be unconstitutional.

A U.S. immigration judge had shielded Garcia, 29, from deportation to El Salvador in 2019, ruling that he would likely face persecution there by local gangs who had terrorized his family. He also was given a federal permit to work in the United States, where he was a metal worker and union member.

Administration officials described his deportation as “an administrative error” but insisted Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang, without providing evidence.