The next is the transcription of an interview with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Maryland’s Democrat, which was broadcast on “Fac The Nation Margaret Brennan” on April 20, 2025.
Weijia Jiang: And now we go to Maryland’s Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen. Senator, thank you very much for accompanying us this morning. I just returned from El Salvador, and I want to resume where we leave it with Camilo, because the White House is using these new details to build its case that Awgo García should stay where he is and not return to the US. UU.
Senator Chris van Hollen: Well, Weijia, it is good to be with you and these cases, of course, separated that the case of Venezuelans he was talking about previously.
Weijia Jiang: Yes.
Senator Chris van Hollen: And in the case of Abrego García, the Trump admitted admitted in a federal court that he had been wrongly kidnapped and sent to a prison in El Salvador. But instead of solving the problem, as the Supreme Court has said, in terms of its need to use their efforts to facilitate their release, they rebuked the lawyer who made that case. So they need to take it home. Now, regarding these other facts. I say, I put on or shut up in court, as he has just heard in his last conversation, they have not done so and I do it because only reading a phrase from the Federal District Court, and I quote, “that the administration has Terher Ter-13, or the Tego-Garria Tergo-Tergo activity,” “without appointment. Go to the Court, leave to tweet and place or shut up in front of the judges.
Weijia Jiang: You mention it because that is why the administration says they have deported Abrego García. And previously you said that when you talk to him, he was not informed about why he was deported or detained. Did you tell him why the administration says they did what they did?
Senator Van Hollen: I did not check all the facts of his case, apart from saying that the courts of the United States had determined that he had life without legs stopped and deported. He has no news of his case. Hey, he told me that when he was tasks of the Baltimore detention center, he wanted to make people know exactly what was happening in terms of his detention there, and could not do it. I did not know that time that they will send it back to El Salvador, where, as you say, a federal immigration judge had prohibited, forbidden to send it.
Weijia Jiang: You also said that you did not direct Abrego García if he is a member of MS-13, which, of course, the Trump administration has designated as a terrorist group. I wonder why, because it is all we are listening to from the White House and you know, it intends to speak for yourself. So, did you ask him?
Senator van Hollen: Well, be your answer. His response has made repeatedly, even in court, which is not. He was not there to litigate all the details of his case. I was there to make sure I was still alive and verify his health. That is what I promised to his wife and family that he would try to do, and that is what I did.
Weijia Jiang: Since he was deported, he has many questions about his well -being and where he is exactly he and you gave the news that he is no longer on Cecot, the maximum security prison, but rather transferred. Do you know why it was transferred and how long will remain in this less restrictive prison?
Senator Van Hollen: I don’t know why he was transferred. I mean, Cecot was a traumatic experience, as well as being illegally kidnapped from the United States illegally, without knowing why. He said he felt threatened by other prisoners in Cecot, not those who were in his immediate cell, but make fun of others. So now he is in a place in Santa Ana, and I think I was the first to know that I had transferred my legs.
Weijia Jiang: I want to show our spectators some photos that El Salvador president, Bukele, who shows you to you and Abbego García sitting around what seems to be margaritas. You have blamed him for trying to deceive people with accessories. After publishing those images, Hey also published, cites: “I love chess.” Do you have any concern that the Salvadoran government has used it as a pawn to make its point that Awgo García is going well and that he must stay where he is?
Senator Van Hollen: No, in fact, the Government of El Salvadora really tried not to let me see him, but I think they realized that it was not a good look at the end of the day. He had press conferences in El Salvador with the local press and pointed out that El Salvador was violating international law by not allowing anyone to contact him, not his wife, not his lawyers, anyone. They realized that it was a bad look. So I am slippery with him, that was the purpose of my visit. They do everything possible to deceive people, and that is what you saw, because they are from the boys of the government, essentially bringing these drinks that seem to look at the margaritas to the table. No one touched them. I can go into the details about how the entire scheme was configured, but the reality is that if you look at the photos when I first sat down, and those of the end, you can see that everything was staged. They are trying to create the impression that you know that this is a guy in paradise when, in fact, it is a leg in one of the most notorious prisons in the world.
Weijia Jiang: Well, the Trump administration has made it clear that they have no intention of taking it back to the United States. And in fact, the official White House account published an image that says exactly that based on its own editions. Is it fair to say that Awgo García Willain in El Salvador while Trump is president or less than Trump changes his mind?
Senator Van Hollen: No, because the United States Supreme Court and the other courts have said that the administration has to facilitate its return. At this time, they challenge that court order. They are not doing anything. I want to be real, this is not a case about a single man whose constitutional rights are being ignored and lacking. Because it tramples the constitutional rights of a man, as all courts have said that it is happening in this case, threatens the constitutional rights of each American. I think that conservatives and libertarians would go back to the idea that someone has lost their freedom without due process. That is my approach. My approach is not a man. It is about ensuring that the rights of man are insured so that we can maintain the rule of law.
Weijia Jiang: Senator van Hollen, thank you. We hope to see you soon and happy Easter.
Senator van Hollen: Thank you.
Weijia Jiang: Face the Nation will return in a minute. Stay with us.