2 weeks Ago
Topline Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said in a press conference Friday the Trump administration has promised to pay El Salvador $15 million to detain deportees including Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland resident erroneously deported last month by the Trump administration.
Key Facts Van Hollen, who took a high-profile trip to El Salvador Thursday to see Abrego Garcia in person, said the Trump administration has paid El Salvador $4 million of the $15 million as of Friday, adding he was “aware that there was some document that memorialized the payments.” The senator emphasized that he has not directly seen the agreement between the White House and El Salvador, adding he was not sure what the details of the agreement were. The Associated Press reported last month, around the same time as multiple deportation flights were made from the U.
S. to El Salvador, that the government would pay El Salvador $6 million to imprison for a year around 300 alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang, noting a State Department document that suggested the Trump administration could put aside a total of $15 million to house more deportees. Van Hollen also gave updates on Abrego Garcia after meeting with him Thursday, revealing he has been moved from CECOT maximum security prison to a new prison with better conditions, though he said Abrego Garcia still has no means of communicating with the outside world.
The senator criticized the Trump administration’s resistance to court orders asking it to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return, saying its actions threaten constitutional rights at large and are “an issue for every American.” Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts : We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
Tangent Van Hollen also accused El Salvador’s government of trying to stage a photo during his meeting with Abrego Garcia. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele claimed on social media Thursday the two men were drinking margaritas during the meeting, an assertion Van Hollen denied. The senator said El Salvador government members put two drinks down during the meeting that he and Abrego did not drink from, claiming photos of the meeting show the salt rims of the drinks were untouched.
Van Hollen also noted the drink put in front of Abrego Garcia came with less liquid than the other. Key Background White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said Abrego Garcia was deported over a “clerical error,” confirming a sworn statement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field Office Director Robert Cerna, who said the deportation was “an error” and “an oversight.” Abrego was living in the U.
S. under withholding of removal, a deportation protection allowing him to temporarily live and work in the country.District Court Judge Paula Xinis ordered the government to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return earlier this month, a ruling that was supported by the Supreme Court.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Xinis’ order “properly requires” the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s release from custody “and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.” The Trump administration has argued it does not have the authority to bring Abrego Garcia back from the “domestic custody of a foreign sovereign nation.” President Donald Trump and other top government officials have said Abrego Garcia will not return to the U.
S., repeatedly alleging he is an MS-13 gang member. Xinis has said the Trump administration relied on a “vague, uncorroborated allegation” to accuse Abrego Garcia of gang membership, while the 4th U.
S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the government should present the allegation in a court of law if it is confident in it. Further Reading Sen.
Van Hollen Meets Kilmar Abrego Garcia In El Salvador (Forbes) Trump Administration Says It Will Simply Re-Deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia If He Is Brought Back To U.S. (Forbes) Join The Conversation One Community.
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