Let’s be clear: a sitting U.S. senator just threatened to hop a plane to El Salvador—not to reinforce law and order or support American victims of violent gangs—but to check on the “condition” of an alleged MS-13 member who was deported under a lawful removal order.
You read that right.
Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) announced Monday that if Kilmar Abrego Garcia—a Salvadoran national with a record of illegal entry into the United States and alleged ties to one of the world’s most brutal street gangs—isn’t returned to the U.S. by midweek, he’s booking a flight south to speak with President Nayib Bukele personally. The purpose? Not border security. Not gang prevention. But to argue for the release of a foreign national who was legally removed after overstaying in the U.S.
You couldn’t script a more tone-deaf response to America’s growing concerns over public safety, illegal immigration, and cartel-linked violence if you tried.
I've been clear: if President Bukele doesn't want to meet here in D.C., then I intend to go to El Salvador this week to check on Kilmar Abrego Garcia's condition and discuss his release.
Kilmar was illegally ABDUCTED and deported by the Trump Admin. He must be brought home NOW. pic.twitter.com/Hunr6F31J3
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) April 15, 2025
While White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller rightfully reminded the press that MS-13 has been designated a foreign terrorist organization and that the prior “withholding order” on Garcia is obsolete, Van Hollen dug in. He claimed Garcia was “abducted and illegally deported”—a wild accusation given that U.S. immigration courts had already issued a removal order, which was carried out in accordance with federal law.
President Bukele, speaking alongside President Trump at the White House, didn't mince words. He said he has “no power” to send Garcia back to the U.S. and asked the obvious question: How could I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? A fair question, and one that underscores the absurdity of this entire debacle.
Even the Supreme Court ruling Van Hollen clings to—where the justices said the government must “facilitate” but not necessarily “effectuate” Garcia’s return—doesn’t support his theatrics. There’s no legal precedent compelling the U.S. to drag a foreign national back from a sovereign country where he is currently imprisoned, especially when that government wants to keep him locked up for gang activity.
Meanwhile, back home, communities ravaged by gang violence continue asking when Washington will start fighting for them. Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) captured the mood when she blasted Van Hollen’s priorities: “Young girls are being abused, Americans are being killed, and our communities are being overrun by illegals — and Democrats like Chris Van Hollen are busy fighting for people who shouldn’t even be here.”
It’s more than disgraceful. It’s revealing. For the modern Democratic establishment, the impulse to defy the Trump administration is so overpowering that they’ll twist themselves into knots defending foreign nationals suspected of terrorism while law-abiding citizens ask for safety, enforcement, and sanity.
And here's the kicker: the guy Van Hollen is fighting for? He’s locked away in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center. Not a misprint. That’s where Bukele put him—because he’s considered a terrorist.