
Maryland senator again denied access to Kilmar Abrego Garcia
(NewsNation) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia continues to have no contact with anyone from the outside of a notorious prison in El Salvador where he is being detained, despite the efforts of a U.S. Senator who has twice been denied access to the migrant this week.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said in a news conference on Thursday that for the second straight day, he was not permitted to check on the well-being of Abrego Garcia, whom the Trump administration has acknowledged was deported to El Salvador due to an administrative error.
Van Hollen and an attorney representing Abrego Garcia’s mother and wife were stopped by soldiers three kilometers from the Cecot prison on Thursday, Van Hollen said. He said soldiers were given orders not to allow them to proceed to the prison.
Van Hollen was previously denied access to Abrego Garcia after meeting with El Salvador’s vice president on Wednesday.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia denied access to attorneys and family, senator says
Van Hollen said that Abrego Garcia being denied access to his attorneys is a violation of international law and that El Salvador is now complicit in “the Trump administration’s lawbreaking in the United States.” A member of Abrego Garcia’s legal team told NewsNation Wednesday that attorneys have repeatedly been denied access to their client.
Van Hollen said that Abrego Garcia’s mother and wife have not been permitted to contact him.
“There’s been no ability to find anything out about his health and well-being,” Van Hollen said Thursday.
Abrego Garcia, 29, remains in El Salvador despite an order from the U.S. Supreme Court to facilitate his return to the United States. Van Hollen says Abrego Garcia was illegally abducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in March and is being illegally held in the El Salvador prison.
Trump administration claims Kilmar Abrego Garcia a member of MS-13 gang
The Trump administration continues to argue that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, which has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization. However, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have denied any of their client’s connections to the gang.
“They’re trying to make this case about Kilmar all about MS-13 when in fact, the judge in the case says they have not provided substantial or any significant evidence to back up their claim,” Van Hollen said.
Van Hollen is committed to continuing to fight for access to Abrego Garcia and said he will not be the last member of Congress to visit El Salvador to fight for Abrego Garcia’s legal rights.
El Salvador’s president refuses to return Kilamr Abrego Garcia to US
El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, said this week that he would not return Abrego Garcia to the United States.
Van Hollen said the purpose of his visit to El Salvador is not to vouch for any one set of facts, but rather, to for the American judicial system, which guarantees the right to due process to U.S. residents. Abrego Garcia was granted protective status from deportation in 2019 after an immigration judge ruled that Abrego Garcia’s fears of returning to El Salvador over gang threats to kill him were justified.
“We need to make sure that the court system works and due process works,” Van Hollen said Thursday. “Because if you take it away for one individual, it’s a very short road to take it away for every American.”