U.S. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland flew to El Salvador on Wednesday (April 4) to meet with the country's Vice President Félix Ulloa and demand the release of the wrongly deported man Kilmar Abrego Garcia. However, Van Hollen's attempt to visit him in prison was denied, and the Salvadoran government reiterated that it could not deport him back to the United States.
It is understood that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) admitted on March 3 that Garcia's misdeportation was an "administrative error", but still insisted that he was related to the "MS-31" gang. In addition, when Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and US President Donald Trump met on Monday (13th), both sides agreed that Garcia should not return to the United States.
In response, federal district judge Paula Xinis ordered an investigation on the 15th to investigate the U.S. government's responsibility for failing to implement the Supreme Court's order to "facilitate" Garcia's return to the country.
"I asked them if I could talk to him (Garcia) so I could know how he was doing and return home to tell his family I was safe, but they said they couldn't arrange it," Van Hollen said in an interview. He added, "This is an illegal kidnapping. U.S. courts have repeatedly ruled that Garcia cannot be deported, and the Supreme Court has reiterated that the U.S. must help him return to the United States, but the government is clearly breaking the law and has no intention of enforcing court orders."
In addition, Van Hollen also said, "I asked the Vice President of El Salvador why the El Salvador government continued to keep Garcia in the Center for Counterterrorism Detention (CECOT) since the El Salvador government had no evidence to prove that Garcia was a member of MS-13. He told me that the Trump administration wasPay a large sum of money, asking the Sao Paulo government to keep Garcia there. "
Regarding Van Hollen's visit, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said at a regular press conference that Van Hollen "has lost common sense and has no basic empathy for the American people."
It is worth noting that Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia and Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost have also written to the House of Representatives, requesting a delegation to conduct an on-site investigation in El Salvador. They said that even if the trip was not approved, they would still go to El Salvador to support Garcia.
