Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen’s recent trip to El Salvador that aimed at meeting deported migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia reportedly ended in disappointment when he was denied entry to the facility where Abrego Garcia is being held.
Van Hollen arrived in San Salvador and met with Vice President Félix Ulloa to discuss Abrego Garcia’s situation.
The senator sought to highlight the challenges faced by the deported Salvadoran national, who was living illegally in the U.S. before his deportation in March.
Abrego Garcia is currently detained in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a mega-prison designed to house gang members.
During the press conference, Van Hollen requested to meet Abrego Garcia directly, but Ulloa informed him that prior arrangements were necessary for such a visit.
Van Hollen expressed frustration, stating he was not interested in a tour but simply wanted to meet the individual.
Abrego Garcia had crossed into the U.S. in 2011, eventually settling in Maryland and marrying a U.S. citizen. He had previously been arrested and faced deportation due to alleged ties to the MS-13 gang.
Despite receiving a withholding of removal that prevented his deportation, he was arrested in March and subsequently deported.
The Trump administration acknowledged that Abrego Garcia’s deportation was an administrative error but maintained he was an unlawful migrant with gang affiliations.
Van Hollen referred to the deportation as an “abduction,” asserting it was illegal.
Meanwhile, he faced criticism for not reaching out to the family of Rachel Morin, a Maryland woman murdered by an illegal migrant, highlighting the complexities and controversies surrounding immigration policy.
[READ MORE: Anti-Conservative Heckler Tazed and Arrested at Town Hall for Marjorie Taylor Greene]
