Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen is traveling to El Salvador on Wednesday, as Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who officials admitted was mistakenly deported, remains detained in a prison there.
On Monday, Van Hollen requested to meet with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele while he visited Washington, D.C. this week. The senator also said he was prepared to go to El Salvador if Abrego Garcia is not returned to the United States.
Van Hollen said he hopes to visit Abrego Garcia and “check on his well-being.”
“Following his abduction and unlawful deportation, U.S. federal courts have ordered the safe return of my constituent Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States,” Van Hollen said in a statement.
“It should be a priority of the U.S. government to secure his safe release, which is why tomorrow I am traveling to El Salvador. My hope is to visit Kilmar and check on his well-being and to hold constructive conversations with government officials around his release. We must urgently continue working to return Kilmar safely home to Maryland.”
In a letter, Van Hollen wrote that he “urgently” wants to meet with Bukele this week. He also said Abrego Garcia should never have been deported, and he should not spend another day at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador.
