If Trump does not return deported people – country, U.S. senators will travel to El Salvador
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen vowed to go to El Salvador for negotiations, releasing a false deportation after the Trump administration ignored Supreme Court rulings to facilitate his return to the United States.
(It is not yet clear whether Van Hollen has ever met with Bucker.)
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) spoke to the media with union leaders and union leaders and workers at the Workers’ Office in Washington, D.C. on March 4, 2025, as workers gathered in Washington, D.C. to protest the recent cuts made by Elon Musk’s government efficiency department.
tasos katopodis/getty images
Abrego Garcia,,,,, The 29-year-old resident of Maryland, a 14-year-old father, was deported to El Salvador on 2019 charges, calling him a member of the MS-13 gang.
According to his lawyer, Abrego Garcia denied being part of the gang and was never charged with a crime.
According to the Associated Press, in 2019, a U.S. immigration judge expelled Abrego Garcia from El Salvador because he could face persecution from local gangs that blackmailed family rents in San Salvador and threatened to rape and kill his siblings.
Court documents say the family has never been to the authorities due to rampant police corruption. The gang continued to harass the family after moving to Guatemala, bordering El Salvador.
The Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, which later described as an “administrative error” while insisting that he was in MS-13.
Van Hollen announced in another statement on April 14 that he intends to travel to El Salvador if Abrego Garcia is not granted freedom.
“Since the Trump administration seems to be ignoring the tasks of these courts, we need to take other actions… If Kilmar is not at home mid-week – I plan to go to El Salvador this week to check his condition and discuss his release.”
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Abrego Garcia took one of three high-profile flights to El Salvador on March 15, carrying alleged gang members, many of whom had no criminal record.
“The United States recognized Abrego Garcia's compliance with the withholding order prohibiting him from resigning to El Salvador, so it was illegal to remove him from El Salvador,” the Supreme Court said in its ruling.
“The order requires the government to 'promote' the release of Abrego Garcia in custody of El Salvador and ensure that his case is handled because if he is not improperly sent to El Salvador, he will be released,” it continued.
He is currently detained at the Center for Terrorism Incarceration (CECOT), a notoriously dangerous prison allegedly suspected of hundreds of gang members.
Prior to the Supreme Court ruling, the Trump administration turned a blind eye to many court orders, asking it to provide information about the whereabouts of Abrego Garcia for about a week.
On April 4, Sinis introduced an order directing the government to promote the return of Abrego Garcia no later than April 7. At a hearing Friday, Sinis said the U.S. Department of Justice failed to comply with the request was “very disturbing.”
She also asked the government to determine his whereabouts and provide her with daily updates on his condition and actions taken to ensure his release.
Abrego Garcia is “alive and safe” under the supervision of the El Salvador government, a document filed on Saturday said.
A member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus held a photo of Kilmar Abrego Garcia at a press conference to discuss his arrest and deportation at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C. on April 9, 2025.
(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
On Monday, Trump administration officials opposed the idea of taking him home, believing it was up to El Salvador. Meanwhile, Bucker argued that he lacked the power to return to him, saying that “smuggling terrorists into the United States” would be “absurd”.
Bukele famously portrays himself as a “cool” dictator, taking a tough approach to dealing with gang-related crimes that have attracted human rights concerns despite the government being curbed under rule.
Also on Monday, Trump cut off CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins, who pressured him to ignore Supreme Court orders.
“You said, if the Supreme Court said you need to return someone, you'll follow that.”
“Why don't you just say, 'Isn't it great for us to keep criminals outside our country?'” Trump refused, adding: “That's why no one looks at you. You have no credibility.”
Trump also said his administration is investigating the legality of sending U.S. citizens who commit violent crimes to El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia's life in the United States
According to documents filed in his immigration case, Abrego Garcia illegally fled to the United States around 2011. He joined his brother Cesar, now a U.S. citizen, and found a job in the construction industry in Maryland.
Five years later, he met his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, a U.S. citizen.
In 2018, after she learned that she was pregnant, he and her two children lived in Prince George County outside Washington, D.C.
Abrego Garcia was arrested by county police in 2019 while looking for a job at a Home Depot, court documents show. The detective asked if he was a member of the gang. After explaining that he was not, he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Abrego Garcia then told the immigration judge that he would seek asylum and demand release. Vasquez Sura enters a five-month high-risk pregnancy.
However, the ICE claims he is a certified gang member based on information from confidential informants used by county police.
According to Abrego Garcia's current lawyer, the criminal informant claims that Abrego Garcia belongs to the New York MS-13 chapter where he has never lived.
Court records show that it would be sufficient for immigration judges to continue prison in 2019 as immigration cases continue. The judge said the informant was proven reliable and verified his gang members and ranks.
Abrego Garcia then married Vasquez Sura at the Maryland Detention Center, court documents show. She was born while he was still in jail.
According to his case, in October 2019, an immigration judge denied Abrego Garcia’s request for asylum, but protected him from being deported back to El Salvador due to “full fear” of gang persecution. He was released and ICE did not appeal.
Abrego Garcia checked in with ICE every year and the Department of Homeland Security issued him a work permit. He joined a union and was full-time as an apprentice in metal sheet metal.
He and Vasquez Sura are raising three children, including their five-year-old son, whose autism has one deaf ear and cannot communicate verbally, according to complaints against the Trump administration. They also raised a nine-year-old autism and a 10-year-old epilepsy.
– Documents with the Associated Press
