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Chris Van Hollen warns Trump admn over ‘wrongfully’ deported Maryland man to El Salvador: ‘If Kilmar is not home by…’
Chris Van Hollen has requested an urgent meeting with El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele to discuss the case of wrongfully” deported Maryland man.
While El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele has refused to send back the “wrongfully” deported Maryland man to the US during his meeting with Donald Trump at the Oval office, Senator Chris Van Hollen has requested an urgent meeting with him. The senator wants to get involved in Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia's case.
In a press statement, Van Hollen mentions that Prince George's County resident Garcia was wrongfully deported without following the proper procedures. He was imprisoned in a maximum-security facility in El Salvador after being falsely accused of belonging to the MS-13 gang.
The US Supreme Court recently determined that the Trump administration must “facilitate” his return. However, the court did not set a deadline.
“Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia should never have been abducted and illegally deported, and the courts have made clear: the Administration must bring him home, now. However, since the Trump Administration appears to be ignoring these court mandates, we need to take additional action,” Van Hollen wrote in the letter to Milena Mayorga, the ambassador of El Salvador.
“That's why I've requested to meet with President Bukele during his trip to the United States, and – if Kilmar is not home by midweek – I plan to travel to El Salvador this week to check on his condition and discuss his release.”
He further disclosed that he has met with Garcia's wife, mother, and brother, who are “extremely worried” about his health and safety.
Meanwhile, the President of El Salvador stated Monday that his nation has “no basis” for Garcia's repatriation. He is an El Salvadorian citizen, according to the United States, and they are unable to legally remove him.
Here's what Trump administration said on Garcia's return
Trump administration officials reaffirmed their conviction that Abrego Garcia should be removed due to his gang affiliation. However, Attorney General Pam Bondi stated on Monday that the United States government would send a plane if El Salvador sent him back.
“That’s up to El Salvador to return him. If they wanted to return him, we would facilitate it,” she said.
However, Bukele stated that he had no plans to free Abrego Garcia.
During the Oval Office press conference, Bukele declared, “The question is preposterous”, adding that "I don’t have the power to return him to the United States.”
The US deported Garcia to a Salvadoran prison with MS-13 gang members on March 15, despite the fact that he was granted a “withholding of removal” protective order, in 2019.
