U.S. Senator returns from El Salvador trip, says Abrego Garcia case is about far more than one man

Sen. Van Hollen fights for Abrego Garcia's release, highlighting Trump's defiance of the judicial system.

The dispute over the wrongful deportation and imprisonment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia “is not only about one man” but about Donald Trump's disregard of the American judicial system as well, Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Friday as he returned from a three-day trip to El Salvador to press for the detained man's release.

Speaking to reporters just after landing back in the United States, Mr. Van Hollen offered few answers about what will come next in Abrego Garcia’s case. But the Maryland Democrat said that he and others will keep speaking out after the Trump administration defied court orders to facilitate his return to the United States and insisted that he would stay in El Salvador — even as officials acknowledged an “error” in deporting him.

“It’s about protecting the constitutional rights of everybody who resides in the United States,” Mr. Van Hollen said at Washington Dulles International Airport at a news conference with Abrego Garcia's supporters behind him. “It’s very clear that the president, Trump administration, are blatantly, flagrantly disagreeing with, defying the order from the Supreme Court.”

Standing next to him, Mr. Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer, wiped away tears as the Senator shared her husband’s comments about missing his family.

Much uncertainty remains about the future of Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who was living in Maryland, after Mr. Van Hollen was presented with a carefully staged opportunity to meet with him in El Salvador on Thursday. The Maryland Senator said that Mr. Abrego Garcia reported he'd been moved from a notorious Salvadoran mega-prison, CECOT, to a detention center with better conditions

Mr. Abrego Garcia's status after Van Hollen left was not known, and there was no indication that Mr. Van Hollen’s trip pushed him any closer to release.

The case has become a focal point in the national immigration debate. Democrats insist that President Donald Trump is overstepping his executive authority and disrespecting the courts; Republicans are criticizing Democrats for defending a man Trump and White House officials claim is an MS-13 gang member, despite the fact that he has not been charged with any gang-related crimes.