U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) flew to El Salvador this week hoping to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia—a Salvadoran national deported by the Trump administration—and returned empty-handed after an embarrassing snub by the country’s vice president.

Van Hollen’s mission to visit the high-security prison where Abrego Garcia is being held went off the rails almost immediately after touching down. Despite personally asking Vice President Félix Ulloa for access, Van Hollen was denied every step of the way.

“I asked the vice president if I could meet with Mr. Abrego-Garcia,” Van Hollen told reporters while standing outside the facility. “And he said, well, you need to make earlier provisions to go visit CECOT. I said, I’m not interested at this moment in taking a tour of CECOT. I just want to meet with Mr. Abrego Garcia. He said he was not able to make that happen.”

“I asked him if I came back next week whether I’d be able to see Mr. Abrego Garcia,” Van Hollen continued. “He said he couldn’t promise that either. So I asked him if I could get on the phone, either a video phone or just a phone, and talk to Mr. Abrego-Garcia so I could just ask him how he’s doing so I could report back to his family. He said he could if the American embassy were to ask, maybe that could happen.”

According to Van Hollen, even Abrego Garcia’s contact with his own family remains in question. “I asked him how about his family, how can he talk to his wife so that she can hear his voice. I let him know that the family has requested that. He said he was not sure whether he could make that happen.”

“We have an unjust situation here,” Van Hollen said. “The Trump administration is lying about Abrego Garcia. The American courts have looked at the facts. In fact, the Trump administration lawyer, the government lawyer, admitted to the court… that Mr. Abrego Garcia had been administrate- taken.”

Despite the senator’s rhetoric, Salvadoran authorities remained firm in their position, declining any special treatment or access to the detainee.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who previously lived in Maryland under protected status, was deported in March 2025 under President Trump’s renewed enforcement of the Alien Enemies Act. The administration has defended the move, citing law enforcement records linking Abrego Garcia to gang activity—a claim Van Hollen and other Democrats deny.

On Wednesday, the Department of Justice released newly unsealed documents confirming that Kilmar Abrego Garcia had been classified by law enforcement as gang-affiliated with ties to MS-13. The documents, made public by Attorney General Pamela Bondi, include DHS reports, immigration court records, and police gang validation sheets identifying Abrego Garcia as a member of the MS-13 “Westerns” clique with the rank of “Chequeo.”
The DOJ materials cite Prince George’s County Police reports and validation from a “past, proven, and reliable source.” A 2019 immigration judge’s ruling found Abrego Garcia to be a flight risk and danger to the community, citing missed court appearances, weak asylum claims, and limited community ties.