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The government of El Salvador has rejected Senator Chris Van Hollen’s request to visit or communicate with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who the DOJ has admitted they accidentally deported but still maintains he’s an MS-13 gang member.
Some shit you should know before you read: If you’re unaware, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran national who entered the United States illegally in 2014 and later sought asylum, claiming he was fleeing gang violence. Although his asylum request was ultimately denied, an immigration judge in 2019 granted him protection from deportation after determining that returning him to El Salvador would likely put his life at risk. Despite this legal protection, the DOJ under the Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia in March, alleging that he was connected to the MS-13 gang. In response, the US Supreme Court ruled that the federal government must “facilitate” his return, arguing that the deportation had violated a standing court order. The Trump administration has maintained that they can only facilitate his return if El Salvador agrees to return him to the US, which President Bukele says will not happen.
What’s going on now: Just days after President Bukele met with President Trump in the Oval Office, Senator Chris Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador in an attempt to secure the release of Kilmar. While in El Salvador, Van Hollen met with El Salvador’s Vice President Félix Ulloa after being unable to meet with Bukele, who was reportedly out of the country. During the meeting, Van Hollen asked to visit or at least speak with Kilmar—currently in the country’s maximum-security CECOT prison—but those requests were turned down.
Ulloa told the senator that a visit would have required earlier arrangements and that a phone call could only be arranged if the US embassy formally requested it. Even when Van Hollen offered to return the following week, Ulloa could not guarantee a meeting with Abrego, nor would he commit to facilitating a conversation with the detainee’s family in Maryland.
Van Hollen expressed frustration after the meeting, stating that El Salvador has no evidence connecting Abrego Garcia to MS-13 and questioning why the government continues to hold him. He said that the Vice President of El Salvador admitted the US government is financially compensating El Salvador to keep Abrego detained in CECOT. The senator also criticized the Trump administration for claims about Kilmar’s criminal background, insisting that there are no charges or credible evidence tying him to gang activity.
In response, the Trump administration defended its decision to deport Kilmar, with officials labeling him as a confirmed member of MS-13 and accusing Van Hollen of prioritizing a criminal over the safety of American citizens. Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, appeared on Fox News and called the senator’s visit “disgusting.” The White House has also released court records revealing that Kilmar’s wife had a temporary protective order against him related to domestic violence.
