U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) was denied access to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man mistakenly deported from the United States, during a diplomatic visit to El Salvador. Abrego Garcia, who lived in Maryland, is now being held in the country’s high-security Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), despite having no criminal record.
Van Hollen, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said El Salvador’s Vice President Félix Ulloa blocked any communication with Abrego Garcia, stating the U.S. was financially supporting his detention. “Why should the U.S. pay to incarcerate a man illegally deported and charged with no crime?” Van Hollen asked.
The deportation occurred under the Trump administration, which used the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expel hundreds, mostly Venezuelans and Salvadorans, without trials or evidence. The Supreme Court has ordered the administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return after acknowledging the deportation was an administrative error. Yet, President Nayib Bukele told President Trump during a White House meeting that El Salvador would not release him. The Department of Homeland Security claimed it lacks authority to bring him back.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Van Hollen of using taxpayer funds to “demand the release of a deported illegal alien MS-13 terrorist,” despite Abrego Garcia’s lawyers denying any gang ties and confirming he had a U.S. protective order since 2019.
Neither government has disclosed the names of other detainees, who remain without legal counsel or outside contact. Human rights advocates continue to press for transparency and legal due process amid concerns over indefinite detention and wrongful deportation.