Maryland senator says he met with wrongfully deported man; court rejects Trump admin bid
TECOLUCA, El Salvador − Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen said he met with Kilmar Garcia Abrego, the sheet metal worker and father of three wrongly deported to El Salvador.
In a message posted on X, Van Hollen, who traveled to the Central American country earlier this week, wrote, “I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.”
The Democratic U.S. senator had been turned away Thursday from the notorious prison where Garcia Abrego was being held, two days after GOP lawmakers toured the facility and posted photos from inside. He said his office, Abrego Garcia's wife − who's an American citizen − and the family's lawyers had tried to contact the longtime Maryland resident and were not able to receive any updates on his health.
Also Thursday, a federal appeals court ruled the government could not continue to stall on the Supreme Court's order that it facilitate Abrego Garcia's return, saying he's "entitled to due process.”
Abrego Garcia, 29, is being held at El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center − CECOT, which has been criticized for its harsh, dangerous conditions. Van Hollen said El Salvador Vice President Felix Ulloa refused to allow him to tour the prison or even speak to Abrego Garcia by phone on April 16. Undeterred, Van Hollen's two-vehicle convoy rolled toward the prison the next day, only to be stopped at a military checkpoint.
Some U.S. lawmakers less sympathetic to Abrego Garcia's cause, however, had no problem touring CECOT this week. Republicans Rep. Riley Moore of West Virginia and Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri posted photos on social media from inside the prison on April 15.
"I just toured the CECOT prison in El Salvador. This maximum security facility houses the country’s most brutal criminals, including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and terrorists," Moore wrote. "Several inmates were extremely violent criminals recently deported from the U.S.
"I leave now even more determined to support President Trump’s efforts to secure our homeland."
Smith was dismissive of Van Hollen's efforts to free Abrego Garcia: "It is unconscionable that Democrats in Congress are urging the release of more foreign criminals back into our country."
Catch up with live updates from the Paste BN Network.
Appeals court: Doing nothing on Abrego Garcia not an option
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals turned down an effort Thursday by the Department of Justice to slow down the process of “facilitating” Abrego Garcia's return, as the court's three-judge panel unanimously declined to suspend the upcoming sworn testimony by Trump administration officials on the matter.
The panel wrote that unlike some complicated cases, the heart of this issue is simple, saying: “The government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is foundational to our constitutional order.''
The judges wrote that should be “shocking” to both judges and the “intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from the courthouse hold dear.”
By not intervening in the process, the panel said it would “not micromanage” U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis’ attempt to implement the Supreme Court’s written orders on the matter.
“The government asserts that Abrego Garcia is a terrorist and a member of MS-13. Perhaps, but perhaps not,” they wrote. “Regardless, he is still entitled to due process.”
Feds relied on gang report from police officer who was later fired, indicted
A now-fired Maryland police officer authored the 2019 gang report the government referenced when it mistakenly deported Abrego Garcia, documents obtained by Paste BN show.
A copy of the pivotal gang report released by Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 16 shields the name of the Prince George’s County, Maryland, police officer. But another, unredacted copy provided by attorneys for Abrego Garcia show it was written by Ivan Mendez.
Just days after a March 2019 encounter with police at a Home Depot in Hyattsville, Maryland, where Abrego Garcia was flagged as a potential MS-13 gang member, Mendez was suspended from the force.
Court records show he was then indicted in June 2020 for misconduct in office. Court records allege he shared “sensitive and confidential information about an ongoing police investigation with a commercial sex worker.”
− Nick Penzenstadler, Eduardo Cuevas, Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Immigration a winning issue for GOP, so White House digs its heels
The drama over the Trump administration's refusal to bring back Abrego Garcia despite court rulings requiring it is providing the president a chance to set the narrative on immigration, one of his strongest issues.
How the fight plays out could impact voter turnout during the midterm elections in 2026 and how both parties address the matter for years to come.
That might help explain why the White House has dug its heels, going as far as saying it would send Abrego Garcia right back to El Salvador if he were returned to the U.S., even as Trump professes to simply be following counsel from Justice Department lawyers.
“If you’re an elected Republican this is a spot where you want to take a stand," said Mark Bednar, a GOP strategist and former House Republican leadership aide. "This is an important space electorally for Republicans."
− Zac Anderson
Trump defers to DOJ on Abrego Garcia case
President Donald Trump sidestepped Thursday a question in the Oval Office about whether he would take steps to bring Abrego Garcia back to the United States and put him in front of a judge if a court holds him in contempt.
“Well, I’m not involved in it. I’m going to respond to that by saying you’ll have to speak to the lawyers, the DOJ,'' Trump told reporters as he met with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. "I’ve heard many things about him. We’ll have to find out what the truth is.”
The president went on to defend his immigration policies, saying he was elected to expel migrants who have committed violent offenses. “And I don’t see how judges can take that authority away from a president,” Trump said.
U.S. officials contend Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 criminal gang, recently deemed a foreign terrorist organization. Their evidence relies on a confidential informant and clothing Garcia was wearing in a 2019 encounter with police.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland, who is handling the case, has questioned the strength of the government's case. "Defendants have claimed – without any evidence – that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13," Xinis wrote in an April 6 opinion.
In the Oval Office later, as he signed two executive orders, he again referred reporters to DOJ lawyers after he was asked whether Abrego Garcia deserves due process in the United States and if he'd press El Salvador's president to release him so the U.S. government can facilitate his return.
"I have to refer again to the lawyers. I'll have to do what they ask me to do," he said.
− Francesca Chambers
Trump administration would deport Abrego Garcia again
The Trump administration has repeatedly defended the deportation and appealed a court order to "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S.
"If he ever ends up back inside the United States, he would immediately be deported again," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Leavitt also raised a series of domestic violence allegations against Abrego Garcia from his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura. Among them was a restraining order following a domestic dispute between the pair. According to the court order from 2021, Abrego “punched and scratched” Vasquez Sura, “ripped off shirt, grabbed and bruised her.”
Vasquez Sura told Paste BN in a statement that she had acted out of caution after a disagreement in filing the temporary protective order, which was closed a month after she filed it, according to Prince George’s County records.
Confidential informant linked Abrego Garcia to gang
Justice Department officials also released more documents tied to a 2019 encounter with Abrego Garcia that set off a chain of events culminating in his removal. Prince George’s County Police officers wrote they responded in March of that year to the Home Depot in Hyattsville, Maryland, where they found four individuals loitering in the parking lot and detained them for questioning. Abrego Garcia was among them.
Police reported they arrested two individuals identified as active MS-13 members and found two small plastic bottles containing marijuana.
They said Abrego Garcia wore a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie with rolls of money “covering the eyes, ears and mouth of the presidents on the separate denominations” indicating his gang allegiance. The report also relies on a confidential informant who indicated Abrego Garcia was an active member of MS-13 with the moniker “Chele.”
Paste BN asked the White House whether these two documents are the sum total evidence that Abrego Garcia belongs to a designated terrorist group.
Harrison Fields, White House deputy press secretary, responded by saying the question was "jaw dropping" and "is being a wife beater not enough? He was here illegally."
Judge had found Abrego Garcia would be persecuted in El Salvador
Abrego Garcia’s mother, Cecilia, ran a pupusería eatery out of their home in San Salvador before he came to the United States. The business, Pupusería Cecilia, was targeted and extorted by the 18th Street gang, according to court filings.
The 18th Street gang, a rival of MS-13, pressured Abrego Garcia to join the gang, the documents say. Around 2011, the family sent Abrego Garcia, then a teenager, to the United State. He crossed illegally and arrived with his brother, Cesar, in Maryland, where Abrego Garcia has lived since.
In 2019, an immigration judge prohibited Abrego Garcia's removal to El Salvador after finding he would face persecution by gangs if he were deported to El Salvador.