Maryland Senator Describes Meeting With Abrego Garcia in El Salvador

The senator said he would try to arrange a phone call between the deported Salvadoran and his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) speaks with Kilmar Abrego Garcia (L) in a hotel restaurant in San Salvador, El Salvador, on April 17, 2025. Press Office Senator Van Hollen via AP

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on April 18 described his meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man that the Trump administration said it deported due to an administrative error.

Van Hollen made the remarks at a Friday press conference after returning to Washington from El Salvador, where he had traveled this week with the intention of meeting Abrego Garcia in person. On Wednesday, he told reporters that El Salvador’s government initially denied him a visit or phone call with the deportee after meeting with the country’s Vice President Félix Ulloa.