U.S. senator meets with man wrongly deported from U.S. to El Salvador

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 17, 2025 9:45 PM EDT | Last Updated: 14 minutes ago

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen said connected Thursday helium met Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a antheral wrongly deported to El Salvador by the medication of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Maryland Democrat posted an representation with Abrego Garcia connected the societal media level X.

"I said my main extremity of this travel [to El Salvador] was to conscionable with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I person called his wife, Jennifer, to walk on his connection of love. I look guardant to providing a afloat update upon my return," Van Hollen wrote.

The gathering came hours aft Van Hollen said helium was denied introduction into an high-security El Salvador situation Thursday portion helium was trying to cheque connected Abrego Garcia's well-being and propulsion for his release.

Trump and El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said this week that they person nary ground to nonstop Abrego Garcia back, adjacent arsenic the Trump medication has called his deportation a mistake and the U.S. Supreme Court has called connected the medication to facilitate his return.

Trump officials person claimed that Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who was surviving successful Maryland, has ties to the MS-13 gang, but his attorneys accidental the U.S. authorities has provided nary grounds of that and Abrego Garcia has ne'er been charged with immoderate transgression related to specified activity.

Van Hollen's travel has go a partisan flashpoint successful the U.S. arsenic Democrats person seized connected Abrego Garcia's deportation arsenic what they accidental is simply a cruel effect of Trump's disregard for the courts. Republicans person criticized Democrats for defending him and argued that his deportation is portion of a larger effort to trim crime.