Sen. Van Hollen Pushes to Free Deported Maryland Man

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen announced he was en route to El Salvador to check on the condition of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father who was wrongfully deported and is currently imprisoned there.

Van Hollen said he plans to meet with Salvadoran officials in an effort to secure the release of 29-year-old Abrego Garcia, whose deportation the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously deemed unlawful.

Just before boarding his flight, Van Hollen shared a video on Instagram outlining the purpose of his trip: “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.” He called the deportation a “miscarriage of justice,” warning, “If we get rid of the rule of law, it’s a short road from there to tyranny.”

But not everyone supported the senator’s mission. Also on Wednesday morning, U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland’s only Republican in Congress, criticized Van Hollen for “spending taxpayer dollars” to travel to El Salvador.

Van Hollen first revealed his travel plans during a town hall Tuesday evening in Hagerstown.

Abrego Garcia, a resident of Beltsville, Maryland, was deported on March 15 to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador, known for its brutal conditions and allegations of torture. He had fled the country at age 16 to escape threats of gang violence, and in 2019 was granted protection from deportation by a U.S. immigration judge. That protection was later revoked under the Trump administration.

On Tuesday, a federal judge in Maryland challenged the Trump administration’s ongoing refusal to retrieve Abrego Garcia, despite a Supreme Court ruling mandating his return to the United States.

According to reports, White House officials maintain they lack the authority to repatriate Abrego Garcia, while the president of El Salvador has publicly stated he would not allow the man’s return, comparing it to smuggling “a terrorist into the United States.”

Van Hollen had requested a meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele during the president’s visit to the U.S. earlier this week. It remains unclear whether that meeting took place.

The senator’s push comes after the Supreme Court determined Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported by the Trump administration and should be brought back to the U.S.

Van Hollen Travels To El Salvador to Push for Return of Wrongfully Deported Maryland Man  was originally published on r1wolbbaltimore.staging.go.ione.nyc