Abrego Garcia reportedly out of CECOT, GOP turns down Dem trip to El Salvador

• Sen. Chris Van Hollen visited El Salvador to meet Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The Trump administration deported him despite a court order protecting him from removal due to gang-related threats. Van Hollen says authorities held Abrego Garcia in El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison and later moved him to a facility with better conditions.
• The Supreme Court ordered the U.S. to facilitate his return, ruling his deportation was an “administrative error.” The Trump administration claims Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member involved in violent crimes, a claim he denies.
• House Republicans blocked a congressional trip by Democrats to review the administration’s deportations.

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Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen visited El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the Trump administration alleged is an MS-13 gang member. The administration mistakenly deported Abrego Garcia from the United States in March, calling it an “administrative error.”

Where did authorities take Abrego Garcia?

Federal authorities took Abrego Garcia to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), El Salvador’s mega-prison. El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, created the prison to house suspected MS-13 gang members.

Van Hollen held a news conference Friday evening, April 18, upon his return to Maryland. During the press conference, he said the prison traumatized Abrego Garcia.

“He was taken to CECOT prison. He was placed in a cell with, if I recall correctly and don’t hold me to it, of about 25 other prisoners at CECOT. He said he was not afraid of the other prisoners in his immediate cell but that he was traumatized by being at CECOT and fearful of many of the prisoners in other cell blocks who called out to him and taunted him in various ways,” Van Hollen said.

Moved to another facility in Santa Ana

The Maryland senator announced that authorities moved Abrego Garcia to another facility in Santa Ana about nine days ago. Van Hollen said the conditions at the new prison are better, but he still doesn’t have a way to contact the outside world.

“But he said, despite the better conditions,” Van Hollen said. “He still has no access to any news from the outside world and no ability to communicate with anybody in the outside world.”

Van Hollen said Abrego Garcia told him he was very sad about being in prison because he had not committed any crimes.

Protected status since 2019

Abrego Garcia is not a U.S. citizen but had been living in the country illegally since he crossed the southern border in 2011. He had entered the country to run from MS-13 gang members, according to immigration documents. A judge granted him a legal protective order in 2019. The judge ruled authorities couldn’t deport him because he feared gang persecution in El Salvador.

Supreme court orders administration to ‘facilitate’ his return

The Supreme Court ruled April 10 for the Trump administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return “and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”

The justices also asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland to clarify the term “effectuate,” which it had used in its ruling. The justices said the lower court may have overstepped its authority when using the term.

“The Supreme Court made their ruling last night very clear that it’s the administration’s responsibility to facilitate the return, not to effectuate the return,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters after the ruling came down.

Trump administration’s accusations

The Trump administration argues Abrego Garcia is a gang member with MS-13, a terrorist organization. They say the United States doesn’t have jurisdiction over El Salvadorans in El Salvador’s custody. Abrego Garcia’s family denies his affiliation with the gang.

President Donald Trump posted to X Friday evening, showing him holding a picture from the Oval Office. The caption of the photo reads “Kilmar Abrego Garcia MS-13 tattoo.” The photo shows an alleged MS-13 tattoo inked on his fingers.

The Trump administration also accused Abrego Garcia of human trafficking crimes and abusing his wife. She had filed a protection order against her husband in 2021.

House Oversight Committee blocks congressional trip

On Friday, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., sent a letter to Reps. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., and Maxwell Frost, D-Fla. Comer explained he won’t allow Democrats to lead a congressional trip to El Salvador to review the status of detained deportees.

The refusal comes after a number of Republicans traveled to the Salvadoran prison this week to promote the president’s immigration agenda, according to Axios.