April 20 (UPI) — Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., in an interview Sunday defended his recent trip to El Salvador to meet with a man from his state who was erroneously deported by the Trump administration.
Van Hollen, speaking in an interview with ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl, said the visit to meet with imprisoned Kilmar Abrego Garcia was a matter of defending the U.S. Constitution.
“I am not defending the man. I’m defending the rights of this man to due process,” Van Hollen said. “My mission and my purpose is to make sure that we uphold the rule of law, because if we take it away from him, we do jeopardize it for everybody else.”
Van Hollen pointed to how the Trump administration has admitted in court that he was wrongfully detained and deported because of an “administrative error” to be held in El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center mega-prison, despite a 2019 court order prohibiting his removal due to safety fears.
The U.S. Justice Department later suspended a lawyer who told a federal court that he did not understand the government’s reasoning while attempting to justify the Trump administration’s position.
A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration had to arrange for Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States, but the government has argued that it cannot since the Salvadoran prison where he is being held is outside the jurisdiction of the United States.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who is holding alleged gang members at the CECOT prison, has not expressed willingness to return the U.S. resident.
The U.S. Supreme Court later agreed with U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis’ ruling, which it said “properly requires the government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”
However, the Supreme Court included a stipulation that Xinis must “show due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs” and clarify the intended scope of the term “effectuate” in her order requiring Abrego Garcia’s return.
Van Hollen then traveled to El Salvador, but was initially denied a visit with Abrego Garcia after meeting with the country’s vice president, Felix Ulloa.
His trip prompted Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives to deny requests from other Democrats for official trips to visit El Salvador, which would afford them more oversight and security resources, even after the GOP sent its own delegation.
“I think, at some point, the president of El Salvador realized it was looking really bad to have this person who had been absconded from the streets of Maryland in one of their prisons and not able to communicate,” Van Hollen said Sunday.
On Friday, Van Hollen revealed that Abrego Garcia had been moved from CECOT to another detention center and that he had been able to meet with his constituent for half an hour on the prison grounds.
“His conversation with me was the first communication he’d had with anybody outside of prison since he was abducted,” Van Hollen said. “He said he felt very sad about being in a prison because he had not committed any crimes.”
After the visit, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published a report that alleged Abrego Garcia was an MS-13 member who likely engaged in human trafficking while in the United States. Van Hollen pushed back on such claims and their relevance.
“The idea that you can’t defend people’s rights under the Constitution and fight MS-13 and gang violence is a very dangerous idea. That’s the idea the president wants to put out. That’s why they’re spreading all these lies.” Van Hollen said.
“I would say that anyone that’s not prepared to defend the constitutional rights of one man when they threaten the constitutional rights of all doesn’t deserve to lead.”