Maryland Democrat says he was denied access to Abrego Garcia in El Salvador
WASHINGTON - Maryland Democrat Rep. Glenn Ivey said he was denied access to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia during a recent trip to El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia, a union sheet metal worker and father of three from Maryland, was wrongly deported to the Central American country in March. He was taken to the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center before being transferred to a facility with better conditions in April.
Ivey, who flew to El Salvador on May 23, told Paste BN in a phone interview that the U.S. ambassador to El Salvador and his office had informed the Salvadoran government of his visit, but he was denied access to see Abrego Garcia.
"They certainly had notice. They were certainly aware. They just decided they wanted to stonewall me, and that's the bottom line on that front," he said.
In April, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, also a Maryland Democrat, traveled to El Salvador and met with Abrego Garcia. "I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love," he posted on X at the time.
Though four House Democrats also traveled to El Salvador in April to advocate for Abrego Garcia's release, their request to meet with him was denied.
Ivey said in a video clip shared on X that he was told he needed a permit to see Abrego Garcia.
"I have a right to go see him and make sure he's in good health. So I don't think there's any merit at all to this permit stuff," Ivey said.
In response to Ivey's post, the Department of Homeland Security posted, "While the mainstream media and politicians are fighting to bring a foreign terrorist and gang member back to U.S. soil, @POTUS Trump and @Sec_Noem are fighting for the victims of alien crime and putting the safety of Americans FIRST."
The Trump administration insists Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, but a federal judge has questioned the strength of the government's evidence. Abrego Garcia denies being a gang member and has no criminal convictions.
The Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to "facilitate" the release of Abrego Garcia, but the Justice Department has argued it does not have the authority to return him to the United States because he is in a foreign country.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland said during a hearing on May 16 that the Justice Department had not made a “good faith” effort to comply with her request to provide information on what the government was doing to bring Abrego Garcia back to the United States.
"The president of the United States is trying to put himself above the law. He's ignoring orders from the United States Supreme Court to do something . . . which is to bring Kilmar back. We can't allow that to happen," Ivey said. "I mean, the Constitution has separation of powers and checks and balances. If we don't protect those and defend those, we won't have them for long."
Contributing: Nick Penzenstadler and Eduardo Cuevas