(NewsNation) — Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said his request to visit a man wrongfully deported to a prison in El Salvador was denied.
Van Hollen made the request to the vice president of El Salvador during a meeting and was told that “more time was needed” for a visit to the prison to be arranged. He said the vice president also would not arrange a date for the next week or put him on the phone with Abrego Garcia.
Senator’s request to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador denied
Van Hollen will make the request to the American Embassy next. He also slammed the President Donald Trump administration for the situation.
“The Trump administration is lying about Abrego Garcia. The American courts have seen the facts. In fact the Trump government lawyer admitted to the courts that it was an administrative error, that it was a mistake,” he said. “But instead of fixing the problem, you know what the administration did? They put that lawyer on administrative leave.”
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia had a court ruling that prevented him from being deported to the country, but was sent there as part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts.
Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador in an attempt to visit and free Abrego Garcia.
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“The goal of this mission is to let the Trump administration and to let the government of El Salvador know that we are going to keep fighting to bring Abrego Garcia home until he returns to his family,” he said.
A judge in the case is saying Abrego Garcia should be returned to the U.S. as courts have previously ruled, slamming the court government for a lack of action.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s attorney confident he will be brought home
There will be an intense two-week period of discovery as the judge attempts to determine if the government has been acting in good faith when it comes to the case.
Attorney for the family, Benjamin Osorio, told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo he is confident that Abrego Garcia will get to come home to the U.S.
“I think it’s in the government’s interest to avoid a Constitutional crisis,” he said. “I think it’s in El Salvador’s interest to avoid this. I think they don’t like the publicity on this right now. I am hopeful the government will comply with the Supreme Court’s order.”
White House says it will not return Kilmar Abrego Garcia
The White House is not yielding on the position that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13, though they have not offered any concrete evidence that he is part of the gang. If Abrego Garcia were a member of the gang, he would be considered a terrorist since the Trump administration has designated several gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.
The administration is saying they will abide by the courts, but has also said Abrego Garcia will not return to the U.S.
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“President Bukele said he was not sending him back,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “That’s the end of the story. There was no situation ever where he was going to stay in this country.”
The White House is arguing that this is out of its hands unless El Salvador decides to send Abrego Garcia back to the U.S., which the country has said it will not do.
Democrats push to have Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned
Attorneys for Abrego Garcia are arguing that the White House should be required to formally request that El Salvador return him.
While Democratic lawmakers have pushed to have Abrego Garcia released from what they have called an illegal abduction, the White House has hit back.
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“Chris and his friends show more sympathy for an illegal MS-13 gang member than victims of horrific migrant crimes,” said Communications Director Steven Cheung. “He is a complete disgrace to his office and should be thoroughly shamed for his disgusting actions.”
Kilmar Abrego Garcia had been living under protected status in US
While Abrego Garcia did enter the country illegally, he has been living under a protected legal status since 2019. He should not have been deported back to El Salvador since a judge agreed, after hearing his case, that his life was in danger there.
The Trump administration has continued saying that he is a high-ranking gang member after a confidential informant allegedly identified him. That informant claimed he was part of MS-13 on Long Island, also known as Mara Salvatrucha.
The terrorist organization, as designated by the U.S. State Department, was created by Salvadoran immigrants in the country before it gained traction in Central America, according to officials.
Abrego Garcia has denied having ties with the gang, saying he’s never been to Long Island. Law enforcement officials in both Suffolk and Nassau counties don’t have arrest records or records of investigation into Abrego Garcia.
