Van Hollen Plans El Salvador Trip as Democrats Join Push for Abrego Garcia

Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said Monday that he would travel to El Salvador if Abrego Garcia was not back in the United States “by midweek.” In a letter to El Salvador’s ambassador, he also requested a meeting with President Nayib Bukele during Bukele’s visit to Washington. Van Hollen told CNN on Tuesday that he had not received a response and hoped to meet Salvadoran officials and visit the prison holding Abrego Garcia.

Bukele said during a Monday meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House that he could not release Abrego Garcia, whom he described as a “terrorist.” The Trump administration has said the deportation was an “administrative error.” The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 last week that the administration must facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return. In a court filing Tuesday, officials said they were prepared to facilitate his presence in the United States if he presented at a port of entry, while maintaining they could not compel Bukele to release him.

Representatives Robert Garcia of California, Maxwell Alejandro Frost of Florida and Yassamin Ansari of Arizona have indicated they would join Van Hollen. Axios reported that Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey also plans to travel. Garcia called the dispute a “constitutional crisis” and said lawmakers should go to El Salvador to demand Abrego Garcia’s release. Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman urged a larger congressional delegation accompanied by international human rights lawyers.

Abrego Garcia came to the United States in 2011. A police informant accused him of belonging to MS-13 in 2019; he has denied the allegation and has never been charged with a crime. A judge that year barred his deportation to El Salvador, citing a credible fear of persecution and torture. He was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last month, transferred to Texas and then sent to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center. He is married to a U.S. citizen and has a five-year-old child.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated Tuesday that the administration considers Abrego Garcia an MS-13 member and foreign terrorist, and said it would ultimately deport him to El Salvador if he returned to the United States. Van Hollen accused the administration of making false claims about Abrego Garcia’s record and said it had an obligation to bring him home. The White House has a $6 million deal with El Salvador to detain suspected gang members expelled from the United States.