Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen says he has met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who immigration officials say was deported by error, in El Salvador on Thursday, Van Hollen’s spokesperson confirmed to CBS News.
The Democratic senator shared a photo with Abrego Garcia at what appears to be a restaurant.
“I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar,” Sen. Van Hollen said. “Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.”
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele also posted photos of the meeting, but suggested Abrego Garcia will remain incarcerated by his government, which is being paid by the United States to hold deportees: “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody.”
Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez, said in a statement after the meeting her “prayers have been answered.”
“We still have so many questions, hopes, and fears. I will continue praying and fighting for Kilma’s’ return home,” Vasquez wrote.
White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai called Van Hollen’s visit “truly disgusting,” writing, “Chris Van Hollen has firmly established Democrats as the party whose top priority is the welfare of an illegal alien MS-13 terrorist.” Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have strongly denied any connections to MS-13.
The surprise meeting with Van Hollen marks Abrego Garcia’s first known appearance since last month, when his deportation to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center drew national attention and sparked a legal standoff with the Trump administration.
The administration admitted in court papers Abrego Garcia was sent to El Salvador — along with hundreds of other Salvadoran and Venezuelan migrants — due to an “administrative error.” U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the government to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States, and the Supreme Court backed up that order, but he has remained in El Salvador since then, with Xinis suggesting the government hasn’t complied with her order and demanding regular updates on his status.
The Trump administration has pushed back, arguing it’s up to El Salvador to decide whether to return Abrego Garcia — an argument an appeals court called “shocking” on Thursday. The government has also alleged Abrego Garcia is linked to Salvadoran gang MS-13, citing a confidential informant, though his attorneys have denied that allegation and noted Abrego Garcia has not been charged or convicted of any crimes.
Abrego Garcia, 29, was born in El Salvador but entered the United States illegally in 2011 at the age of 16. He was arrested outside a Maryland Home Depot in 2019, but a judge barred the government from deporting him to El Salvador, warning he could be persecuted by gangs in his home country. Years later, in March of this year, he was detained by immigration agents in Maryland and sent to the Salvadoran detention center, known as CECOT.
Abrego Garcia’s case is at the center of a controversial push by the Trump administration to send scores of migrants — including accused members of MS-13 and Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua — to CECOT using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which allows the president to deport citizens of an enemy nation during an “invasion or predatory incursion.” The gambit has been challenged in court, with opponents decrying conditions in CECOT and arguing the government is denying migrants the right to due process. A “60 Minutes” report found most of the 238 Venezuelans sent to CECOT on several planes last month had no apparent criminal record. But the Trump administration has defended its use of the law, arguing it is cracking down on gang violence.
Van Hollen’s meeting with Abrego Garcia came after the senator was turned away Thursday at a military checkpoint near CECOT. He said he was about three kilometers from the notorious supermax prison, when he was stopped by soldiers, who he said were ordered to prevent him from going toward the prison.
Van Hollen left for El Salvador on Wednesday, intending to check on Abrego Garcia’s well-being. He provided updates on his journey.
“My overall purpose here is to send a signal that we are not going to stop fighting for his return until he is actually released,” Van Hollen said before his flight.
