(NewsNation) — Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is returning to the United States after meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man sent to El Salvador despite a court order barring his deportation.
Van Hollen, along with other Democrats, has been pushing for Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. Federal courts have ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” his return, saying he was not given due process.
The Trump administration has pushed back and said documents show Abrego Garcia is an active member of the MS-13 gang, was previously detained in connection with a murder investigation and admitted to being in the U.S. illegally.
The battle to bring him back home is not only between the Trump administration and the courts, but it is also a battle between the White House and Van Hollen.
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to weigh in on the matter, saying the Maryland senator “looked like a fool” during his visit to El Salvador and called him a “grandstander.”
El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, made a post on the social media platform X mocking Van Hollen’s visit and saying Garcia has “miraculously risen from the death camps and torture, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador.”
Bukele then went on to say that Garcia would remain in El Salvador’s custody now that he’s been confirmed healthy.
Jennifer Vasquez Sura, Abrego Garcia’s wife, released a statement following Van Hollen’s visit, saying that she and her family’s prayers have been answered knowing that he is alive, and went on to thank the senator for continuing the fight to reunite him with his family.
NewsNation’s Jackie Koppell contributed to this report.