U.S. senator meets with deported immigrant in El Salvador

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., on Thursday evening met with deported immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador. Van Hollen had traveled to check on Abrego Garcia’s well-being, saying that the man’s family and lawyers in the United States had not been able to contact him. Soldiers earlier on Thursday blocked Van Hollen from entering the high-security prison where Abrego Garcia was being held. But Hollen later shared photos of the two meeting. He did not say where they met. White House spokespeople have criticized Van Hollen’s trip, calling Abrego Garcia a gang member and a terrorist who will never return to the United States.

Van Hollen said he had called Abrego Garcia’s wife Jennifer to pass on a loving message from the detained man. The senator planned to give a further update on Abrego Garcia’s situation after returning from the trip, he said.

After being denied entry to the prison, before meeting with Abrego Garcia, the senator at a Thursday press conference accused El Salvador of violating the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a United Nations treaty it ratified in 1979. The treaty says an imprisoned person has the right to consult his legal counsel.

What’s the ongoing controversy over Abrego Garcia’s imprisonment? Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran national who lived in Maryland on temporary legal status from 2011 until ICE deported him last month. His wife is a U.S. citizen. The U.S. government admitted it erred in deporting him, since a 2019 immigration court ruled he could not be sent back to El Salvador.

But Trump administration officials said Abrego Garcia was an MS-13 gang member, pointing to allegations in police reports, and have said he will never live in the United States again. The Department of Homeland Security also said Abrego Garcia abused his American wife, releasing court documents that showed she filed for a protective order against him in 2021. The Supreme Court recently ruled that the U.S. government must facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return, but the government said it could not bring him back without approval from the Salvadoran president.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report on Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s comments about Abrego Garcia during a recent U.S. visit.