Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., is in El Salvador to get answers about the wrongful deportation of a Maryland man by the Trump administration, he said in a video ahead of boarding a flight on Wednesday.
Van Hollen said he had been planning the trip for the last few days and that he hopes to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in person and see his condition.
Abrego Garcia, who reportedly fled political persecution from El Salvador and was deported last month by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency following an “administrative error,” remains in the CECOT prison despite court orders requesting the U.S. government “facilitate” bringing him back to the United States.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen speaks at a news conference on the Trump Administration’s planned cuts to the Social Security Administration at the Capitol on March 26, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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“The goal of this mission is to let the Trump administration, to let the government of El Salvador know that we are going to keep fighting to bring Abrego Garcia home,” Van Hollen said in a video.
He posted another video after he landed and said he was on his way to meet with members of the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador.
It is unclear if anyone else is joining the senator on the trip.
Attorney General Pam Bondi alleged Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member and was able to be deported because of President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration.
However, the Department of Justice has not made that accusation in court papers and admitted the deportation was an error. Abrego Garcia’s family and attorneys have been fighting the deportation for weeks in court.
Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, speaks during a press conference on the day of a hearing in the case related to Kilmar Abrego Garcia outside U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, April 15, 2025.
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The Supreme Court unanimously ruled last week that the 29-year-old father, who had no criminal record in the U.S., was illegally deported. However, Bondi has claimed El Salvador’s government is not giving him up.
“What bullies do is they begin by picking on the most vulnerable,” Van Hollen said.
