A US senator has met with Kilmar Ábrego García, a man who Trump administration officials acknowledge was erroneously deported from Maryland to El Salvador’s maximum-security prison.
Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen shared photos of the meeting, which appeared to take place in a hotel, as the administration continues fighting against Ábrego García’s return despite Thursday’s court ruling against the government.
Following the encounter, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele stated the detainee would remain in the country’s custody. The White House has accused Ábrego García of MS-13 gang membership, a designated foreign terrorist organization—allegations his lawyer denies.
Trump responded on Truth Social, saying Van Hollen “looked like a fool yesterday standing in El Salvador begging for attention from the Fake News Media, or anyone.”
The visit occurs amid an intensifying conflict between the president and the courts. On Thursday, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the administration in a case that could compel officials to testify under oath about the deportation.
Conservative Judge Harvie Wilkinson III wrote a scathing opinion, calling the situation “shocking” and noting the government “is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process.”
Ábrego García’s attorneys are suing the US government for deporting him to El Salvador’s mega-prison in March, which the administration admitted was an error. The Supreme Court has ordered the government to “facilitate” his return.
The photos shared by Van Hollen and Bukele provide the first glimpse of the Maryland resident since his deportation. “I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance,” the Democratic senator posted on social media, adding he had contacted Ábrego García’s wife Jennifer to relay his “message of love.”
Before the meeting, Van Hollen reported being stopped by armed guards while attempting to visit Cecot prison. He arrived in El Salvador Wednesday hoping to secure Ábrego García’s release. The senator didn’t provide an update on Ábrego García’s status but promised more information upon returning to the US.
President Bukele appeared to mock social media speculation about the inmate’s death, commenting that Ábrego García had “miraculously risen from the ‘death camps’ & ‘torture'” in the “tropical paradise of El Salvador,” adding, “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody.”
The White House condemned the visit as “disgusting,” claiming it demonstrates Democrats side with “an illegal alien MS-13 terrorist” while Trump stands with law-abiding Americans. Ábrego García’s lawyers maintain he has no gang affiliation and has never been charged with or convicted of any crime.
Ábrego García was living in Maryland before his March 15 deportation to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (Cecot). Judge Paula Xinis ruled his removal violated a 2019 court order granting him legal protection from deportation.
Trump officials have conceded the deportation was an “administrative error,” though the White House insists otherwise. The administration has cited a 2021 restraining order filed by Ábrego García’s wife alleging domestic violence. Ms. Vasquez Sura told Newsweek they had worked through their difficulties through counseling.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declared: “He will never live in the United States of America.”
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