On Tuesday, Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, personally asked President Trump to bring back a Salvadoran national and Maryland resident who was wrongly deported last month and is currently imprisoned in El Salvador. He accused Trump of “serious violations of the Constitution and due process rights” regarding Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia’s situation.
In his extensive letter, Van Hollen criticized Trump for neglecting a Supreme Court ruling that required the administration to “facilitate” the return of Abrego Garcia.
Lawyers from the Justice Department indicated shortly after Abrego Garcia’s deportation that it was due to an “administrative error.” Last week, Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador, where he was briefly allowed to meet with Abrego Garcia after the government arranged for his temporary release from a detention facility.
During his meeting with Vice President Félix Ulloa of El Salvador, Van Hollen detailed conversations that made it clear that the country had “no independent legal basis” to keep Abrego Garcia imprisoned and had done so solely because of a financial agreement with the Trump administration to detain any deportees sent from the U.S.
“The argument from the Trump administration is misleading, claiming that El Salvador is a sovereign nation and it’s their decision regarding Abrego Garcia’s release,” Van Hollen said in an interview. “However, the Salvadoran government states the opposite.”
In his letter, Van Hollen expressed belief that Salvadoran officials would free Abrego Garcia if the Trump administration made the request.
“Clearly, your administration could state that El Salvador is no longer contractually bound to keep Mr. Abrego Garcia imprisoned. That would allow El Salvador to release him, and Attorney General Bondi can fulfill her promise to send the plane,” Van Hollen wrote, referring to comments made by Ms. Bondi during a recent Oval Office meeting between Trump and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele.
However, Ms. Bondi later told reporters that Mr. Abrego Garcia would not be coming back, claiming that Salvadoran officials were not willing to release him.
“He is not coming back to our country,” she stated at a Justice Department news conference. “President Bukele indicated he wouldn’t send him back. That’s the final word.”
Van Hollen emphasized that the issues surrounding Abrego Garcia’s situation extend well beyond just one person.
“While Mr. Abrego Garcia is at the heart of this case, its implications affect the due process rights of all who reside in America,” he expressed. “If your administration can disregard the constitutional rights of one individual in defiance of court rulings, it sets a precedent for that to happen to anyone.”
