Senator Chris Van Hollen, D-MD., Said he was blocked Thursday from entering the El Salvador prison who held the population of Maryland who according to the court was wrongly deported from the United States last month.
Senator Maryland, who flew to the country on Wednesday, shared a photo on X on Thursday night she sat with Abrego Garcia.
The Supreme Court and Federal Judge Maryland ordered the US government to “facilitate” the return of Abrego Garcia to the US after the Department of Justice said that in the submission of a court that the 29 -year -old father was deported wrongly because of “administrative error.” Trump’s government accused him of not being able to bring him back and claim outside the court that Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang.
The photo was not dated provided by Casa, an immigrant advocacy organization, in April 2025, showed Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
House through AP
Van Hollen joined Chris Newman, who said he was a lawyer for his wife and mother Abrego Garcia, and said they tried to examine the condition of the deported man.
The video also shows Van Hollen and Newman spoke with the prison guard, who seemed to shake their heads “No.”
“These soldiers were ordered to prevent us from going further from this place,” said Van Hollen. “I understand that we are now about three kilometers from Cecot, and as you can see, they let other cars pass by, but they stop us because they are under orders not to allow us to continue to check the welfare of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.”
Senator Maryland Chris Van Hollen in a video posted to her YouTube account, April 17, 2025.
Senator Chris Van Hollen/Youtube
Over the past few weeks, members of the Republican Congress have gained access to prison and posted images on their social media pages from within the complex.
Van Hollen then told reporters that he submitted a request to visit the prison to the US Embassy, who then gave a request to the Government of El Salvador.
Senator said he also asked Vice President El Salvador on Wednesday to visit the facility.
“I emphasize my goal is to check his health and welfare,” he said.
Senator also said that the prisoner had no contact with anyone outside the Cecot, which according to him was a violation of international law.
“El Salvador is an international agreement on civil and political rights. El Salvador has signed and ratified the agreement, and that the agreement says, and I quote, ‘People who are detained or imprisoned have the right to communicate and consult with their legal counsel,” Van Allen told reporters.
The White House slammed Van Hollen for traveling and advocating Abrego Garcia on Wednesday. Administration and DOJ have claimed with a little evidence, that Abrego Garcia is a gang member.
The Department of Justice has not yet charged Abrego Garcia with a crime related to gangs and alleged MS-13 membership has been debated in court.
A federal judge and the Supreme Court ordered the government to take all the steps available to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia to the US, and on Wednesday, DOJ submitted a notification that it was interesting.
The 4th US circuit appeal court rejected Trump’s administrative request on Thursday.
President Donald Trump considered the situation on Thursday and claimed he was not involved.
“I was chosen to get rid of the criminals, to get them out of our counts, Ry or get rid of them, but to get them out of our country. And I did not see how the judge could take the authority from a president,” he told reporters.