The Maryland lawmaker arrived in the country on April 16.
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said he met Thursday in El Salvador with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran illegal immigrant who was deported due to what the Justice Department called an administrative error.
Van Hollen, who has been advocating for Abrego Garcia to be brought back to the United States, arrived in El Salvador on April 16 and met with Salvadoran Vice President Félix Ulloa. Abrego Garcia has been incarcerated in CECOT, the country’s largest maximum security prison.
Van Hollen, who recorded his trip in several posts to the social media platform X, was initially unable to meet with Abrego Garcia on April 16, but was later permitted to do so on April 17.
“I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance,” Van Hollen said in a post on social media platform X. “I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.”
In a post on X, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele showed photographs of the meeting between Abrego Garcia and Van Hollen with a caption rejecting the claim that Abrego Garcia is being mistreated by El Salvador.
“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 wrote.
In a follow-up post, Bukele said, “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, [Abrego Garcia] gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody.”
Abrego Garcia’s deportation to El Salvador has become a political flashpoint in ongoing debates about the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Democrats say Abrego Garcia’s deportation, despite his illegal status, violated the law as well as his due process rights.
Abrego Garcia was living with his wife and child, both U.S. citizens, in Maryland when he was arrested. The administration has said that he has ties to MS-13—a criminal gang designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government—which Abrego Garcia’s attorney has denied.
By Joseph Lord
