Washington – Senator Chris van Hollen Sunday said El Salvador “tried a lot” to avoid seeing Kilmar Abrego GarcíaBefore the government reversed the course at the end of last week.
“I think they realized that it was not a good look at the end of the day,” Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, He said in “in front of the nation with Margaret Brennan. “
Abrego García He is a 29 -year -old Salvadoran citizen who lived in Maryland who was sent last month to the notorious prison of El Salvador Cecot as part of a White House effort, Malhegh, the administration later admitted in the court that Abrego García was by mistake those. The case has stood out in the last week amid tensions over low heat between the Federal Judiciary and the repression of the Trump administration on illegal immigration.
Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador Last week, where with Abrego García on Thursday after saying that his attempts were repeatedly rejected by the Salvadoran government.
Van Hollen said that they celebrated press conferences in El Salvador, where he declared that the government was “violating international law by not allowing anyone to reach it,” and added that “they realized that it was a bad look.”
After Van Hollen was allowed to meet Abbego García, The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, He was the first to announce the meeting, writing in an X post that García abibly was “now taking margaritas with the Sen. They go hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador”, along with photos that showed the two sitting on a table with drinks that look like. The president later wrote: “I love chess.”
Van Hollen said about the Salvadoran government: “They do everything possible to deceive people,” describing how drinks were brought to the table since the photos were tasks.
“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 internal,” said Van Hollen. “They are trying to create the impression that, you know, this is a guy in paradise, when in fact it is a leg in one of the most notorious prisons in the world.”
Abrego García arrived in the United States illegally in 2011 and was arrested in 2019. When he was released from immigration custody, an immigration judge granted him the retention of elimination, a legal status that prohibits the government from deporting.
Van Hollen said Sunday that Abrego García has been transferred from Cecot to an installation in Santa Ana. Since then, Trump administration officials have recognized that Abgo García’s removal to El Salvador was an “administrative error.”
Even so, there has been a fierce legal battle around efforts to return Abrego García to the US. The administration was ordered earlier this month To “facilitate and effective” the return of El Salvador de Abrego García, before the Supreme Court ruled that the judge’s decision required that the Government “facilitate” its release, while the scope should be clarified. Thors Day, a Federal Court of Appeals Rejected a request From the Trump administration to stop the order of the district judge, writing that government claims in the case should be “shocking” for all Americans.
Meanwhile, the White House and Bukele have made them intend to bring Abrego García back, despite the orders, while Trump administration officials have repeatedly affirmed that he is a member of the MS-13 gang. Van Hollen emphasized that the Administration has not presented evidence to link Abrego García with MS-13 or other terrorist activity, while urging officials to “lift or shut up in court.”
“Go to the Court, stop tweeting and lock in front of the judges,” added Van Hollen.
The Maryland Democrat said he did not travel to El Salvador to litigate the details of Abrego García, but “to make sure he was still alive and verify his health.” But he argued that the case is also much larger than a man.
“This is not a case about a man whose constitutional rights are being ignored and lacking, because he achieves the constitutional rights of a man, since the courts have everything SAC that is happening in this case, the hollarational threatens.