OAN Staff Blake Wolf
12:10 PM – Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Democrat Maryland Senator Chis Van Hollen has traveled to El Salvador in an attempt to bring a migrant man, who is accused of being an MS-13 member, back to the United States after he was deported to El Salvador.
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was deported by the Trump administration after two immigration judges deemed that he was “confirmed to be a ranking member of the MS-13 gang by a proven and reliable source.”
Van Hollen (D-Md.) recorded a video from the airport, where he stated that he is “going to keep fighting to bring Abrego Garcia home, until he returns to his family.”
“The goal of this mission is to let the Trump administration and the government of El Salvador know that we are going to keep fighting to bring Abrego Garcia home,” the Democrat senator stated.
“This is about due process. This is about rule of law,” Van Hollen continued. “What bullies do is they begin by picking on the most vulnerable. But if we get rid of the rule of law and due process in the United States, it’s a short road from there to tyranny.”
Meanwhile, a slew of mainstream media outlets have reported that Garcia’s deportation was a “mistake” after a Trump administration lawyer had falsely characterized his deportation as an “administrative error.” However, the attorney was later dismissed from the case by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who argued that the deportation was, in fact, not an error.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller corroborated Bondi’s assertions.
“That’s a big fact that all of you [news reporters], most of you, have gotten wrong,” stated White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller. “No one was mistakenly sent anywhere.”
In response to Van Hollen’s trip, White House communications director Steven Cheug wrote that the Maryland senator has “shown more concern and sympathy for an illegal MS-13 gang member than victims of horrific migrant crimes. He is a complete disgrace to his office and should be thoroughly shamed for his disgusting actions.”
Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who is overseeing the case, has now ordered the Trump administration to reveal the evidence they have showcasing Abrego Garcia’s role in the criminal foreign street gang — which was designated as a terrorist organization by President Trump.
“I’ve gotten nothing,” Xinis stated. “I’ve gotten no real response, and no real legal justification for not answering.”
Since then, the White House has continued to firmly uphold its designation of Abrego Garcia as a “foreign terrorist” amid the ongoing deportation proceedings. Trump officials have referenced rulings by two immigration judges, both of whom affirmed the designation after reviewing “substantial evidence” of his affiliation with the criminal gang.
“He is an MS-13 gang member. He was engaged in human trafficking. He illegally came into our country, and so deporting him back to El Salvador was always going to be the end result,” stated White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday.
El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, also recently affirmed that he won’t be returning Abrego Garcia back to the United States.
“President Bukele said he was not sending him back,” stated Attorney General Pam Bondi, adding that Abrego Garcia is “from El Salvador, he’s in El Salvador and that’s where the president plans on keeping him.”
Meanwhile, Border Czar Tom Homan slammed Van Hollen’s “virtue-signaling” trip to El Salvador, asserting that he is “disgusted” with his efforts.
“He wasn’t abducted, he’s an MS-13 gang member – classified as a terrorist who was removed from this country. So we got rid of a dangerous person – an El Salvadoran national was returned to the country of El Salvador so he’s home,” Homan stated.
“I’m just disgusted that any congressional representative is gonna run to El Salvador to his aid, when yesterday I read in his (Van Hollen’s) state – an illegal alien charged with murder, was released back in the community and the ICE detainer wasn’t honored and ICE had to go find him.”
Abrego Garcia is currently being held in the notorious CECOT Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador.
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