Democratic lawmakers plan trip to El Salvador to release wrongly deported Maryland man
US Senator Chris Van Hollen (Photo: Getty Images)
A group of Democratic lawmakers announced plans to travel to El Salvador this week if Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident mistakenly deported by US authorities, is not returned to the country, reports NBC News.
Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has taken the lead in pushing for the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man the Justice Department admitted was deported in error.
In a letter sent Monday to El Salvador’s ambassador in Washington, Van Hollen requested a direct meeting with President Nayib Bukele, who just hours later stated during a White House visit that he would not return Garcia to the US.
The president of El Salvador, Bukele, refused to return the wrongly deported man, saying, "How can I return him to the United States? Like if I smuggle him into the United States? Of course, I’m not going to do it."
Van Hollen responded in a statement: "If Abrego Garcia is not back in the United States by midweek, I will travel to El Salvador this week to check on his condition and discuss his release."
The White House has shown no willingness to intervene in Garcia’s case, despite a Supreme Court ruling that ordered the administration to "facilitate" his return.
The 2019 immigration court decision had explicitly barred his deportation due to risks of persecution — a fact now central to the growing outcry.
Lawmakers unite in bid to return Maryland resident
Representative Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) voiced his support online, calling Garcia’s detention "kidnapping" and offering to join Van Hollen’s trip.
"We must all stand as a united front against the kidnapping and illegal detention of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador," he posted on X.
Arizona Representative Yassamin Ansari echoed the call, stating she is "ready to join" the delegation.
Van Hollen remains hopeful that international dialogue will change the outcome. "I don’t think [Bukele] wants to essentially be the president who’s kidnapped the United States citizen," he said.
Though his request for a meeting was received by El Salvador’s embassy, there has been no response.
If silence continues, he intends to seek an in-person discussion with Salvadoran officials, calling Garcia’s continued detention "absolutely unjust and illegal."
