Rabia Iclal Turan
19 April 2025•Update: 19 April 2025
WASHINGTON
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Friday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the Trump administration claims was mistakenly deported last month, was traumatized by his detention in El Salvador.
Van Hollen met Abrego Garcia on Thursday during a visit to that country, after repeated efforts to speak with him had been blocked by Salvadoran authorities. Speaking at Washington Dulles International Airport after his return, Van Hollen said the 30-minute meeting was Abrego Garcia’s first contact with anyone outside the prison since his deportation.
“His conversation with me was the first communication he’d had with anybody outside of prison since he was abducted,” said Van Hollen, who called the deportation an “illegal abduction.”
“He said he was not afraid of the other prisoners in his immediate cell, but that he was traumatized by being at CECOT (Terrorism Confinement Center) and fearful of many of the prisoners in other cell blocks who called out to him and taunted him in various ways,” he added.
He said Abrego Garcia, who was born in El Salvador but has lived in the US since childhood, was unaware of the national attention on his case. Van Hollen added that he had seen a doctor for a blood pressure condition, but remained emotionally shaken.
“We need to bring Mr. Abrego Garcia home to protect his constitutional rights to due process,” Van Hollen said, emphasizing broader implications. “This is about protecting the rights of everybody who resides in the United States.”
He rejected the Trump administration’s claims linking Abrego Garcia to the MS-13 gang, saying the accusations should be brought in court, not spread “over social media.”
US President Donald Trump slammed Van Hollen on Friday for meeting Garcia.
"Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland looked like a fool yesterday standing in El Salvador begging for attention from the Fake News Media, or anyone,” he wrote on Truth Social.
After legal wrangling in federal court, the US Supreme Court stepped in last week and ordered the Trump administration to give details on Abrego Garcia's status and to “facilitate” his return to the US.
A judge ordered Trump administration officials Tuesday to be questioned under oath as part of a two-week process of "expedited discovery" to determine whether the US government is doing enough to try to bring back Abrego Garcia.
