Dem Senator Headed To El Salvador On Mission To Bring Gang Member Back To America

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) announced Tuesday he will travel to El Salvador to check on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 gang member imprisoned in the Central American nation, and push for his release.

The Democrat confirmed the plan after warning earlier in the week that he would make the trip if Garcia — a man residing in Maryland who was detained in March, deported, and sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center in his home country of El Salvador — was not returned to the United States.

“It should be a priority of the U.S. government to secure his safe release, which is why tomorrow I am traveling to El Salvador,” Van Hollen said in a statement. “My hope is to visit Kilmar and check on his wellbeing and to hold constructive conversations with government officials around his release.”

The Trump administration has accused Garcia, who entered the United States illegally but got permission to stay in 2019, of being a member of MS-13. Garcia’s attorneys have reportedly denied that their client is part of the gang. Last week, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that said the government must “facilitate,” but not necessarily “effectuate,” Garcia’s return. A legal battle over Garcia’s deportation is ongoing, with the judge overseeing the case ordering federal officials to testify on whether they are working to get Garcia back.

On Monday, White House aide Stephen Miller dismissed claims that Garcia was deported by mistake and contended that the withholding order the suspect received six years ago is no longer valid because the Trump administration has designated MS-13 as a foreign terror organization. And, during a White House meeting with President Donald Trump, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele declared that he would not send Garcia back. “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?” Bukele said, adding, “I don’t have the power to return him.”

Van Hollen claimed in his statement that Garcia endured an “abduction and unlawful deportation” and insisted that the federal courts “ordered the safe return” of his “constituent.” The senator also said: “We must urgently continue working to return Kilmar safely home to Maryland.”

Multiple Democrats in Congress have expressed interest in joining Van Hollen in El Salvador. Axios reported that Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), fresh off a record-breaking Senate speech criticizing Trump’s policies, is among those looking to make a trip to the country.

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed Democrats when asked for a response to the “priorities” of Senate Democrats on the illegal immigration issue given Van Hollen was volunteering to visit El Salvador.

“It’s mind-boggling, the priorities of the modern-day Democratic Party. I think it’s atrocious that to have Democrats in Congress on Capitol Hill, who swear an oath to protect their constituents and to serve them in Washington, D.C., spending more time defending illegal immigrant gang members than their own constituents and law-abiding American citizens like Rachel Morin,” Leavitt said.

Morin, a 37-year-old Maryland mother of five, was found dead in August 2023 after she went out to exercise on a hiking trail. Earlier this week, Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez — who has been identified as an illegal immigrant from El Salvador — was convicted of raping and murdering Morin.

Van Hollen released a statement on Tuesday in response to the verdict.

“While the conviction of Rachel Morin’s killer will not return Rachel to her family where she rightfully belongs, this verdict brings a measure of justice that they so deserve,” Van Hollen said. “I’m grateful to the law enforcement officers who brought her killer into custody and for our legal process for delivering this justice. As I have said in the past, the American people deserve meaningful action to reform our broken immigration system, improve public safety, and strengthen our border security. We can do this while also supporting our immigrant communities and respecting the rights of individuals who are here legally – I am committed to doing both, and I will continue pressing my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to move forward on this issue.”