Senator Van Hollen meets with Kilmar Abrego García (Updated)

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.

— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@vanhollen.senate.gov) 2025-04-18T01:02:08.991Z

Proof of life. That’s the first bit of good news on this subject. Too bad he couldn’t just bring him back on his plane. 

From The New York Times: 

Mr. Van Hollen had initially been stopped by the Salvadoran military officials when he tried to visit Mr. Abrego Garcia, and described the encounter as a blockade intended to thwart his visit to the prison. Human rights advocates have documented overcrowding in El Salvador’s prisons and reports of torture.

“This was a very sort of simple humanitarian request,” Mr. Van Hollen said soon after the stop. “They said they were ordered not to allow us to proceed any further.”

Mr. Van Hollen’s visit underscores a broader Democratic effort to spotlight the case of Mr. Abrego Garcia, placing his detention at the center of their efforts to challenge the Trump administration’s approach.

“This is an example of the much bigger challenge, no doubt about it,” Mr. Van Hollen said of the case of Mr. Abrego Garcia, who had been living in Maryland under a federal judge’s order that granted him protections from deportation. “Because my view is when you start picking on the most vulnerable people, and you push and push and push, and you get away with it, then you take the next bite.”

In exchange for El Salvador’s detention of the deported immigrants, Mr. Bukele has said he is being paid $6 million by the U.S. government.