Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s (D-Md.) trip to El Salvador to visit a mistakenly deported constituent has thrust the mild-mannered lawmaker into a major battle with the Trump administration as it doubles down on its pledge to keep Kilmar Abrego Garcia imprisoned abroad.
Van Hollen embarked for the Central American nation on Wednesday after saying he would travel there if Abrego Garcia had not been returned by mid-week.
In doing so, Van Hollen traveled straight to the capital of a country whose government rebuffed his request to meet with President Nayib Bukele, and who has vowed not to release Abrego Garcia.
“This case is not just about one man, it’s about protecting the constitutional rights of everybody who resides in the United States of America,” Van Hollen said at a press conference after landing at Dulles International Airport, appearing alongside members of Abrego Garcia’s family.
“That’s why I traveled to El Salvador leaving here on Wednesday, and I want to express my gratitude to members of my family and members of my staff who agree that we all must be prepared to take risks because of the current risk to our constitution itself.”
Van Hollen achieved the main objective of his trip in meeting with Abrego Garcia. The senator did so despite being told such a visit was not possible and having his car physically blocked by authorities as he attempted to visit the notorious prison his constituent was being held.
To Van Hollen, the trip was one small step to address an injustice after Abrego Garcia was sent to a Salvadoran prison despite a 2019 immigration court ruling protecting him from being deported to his home country.
And while the White House has claimed Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13, the assertion is largely based on one confidential tip that he was part of the gang’s New York branch — a state where he has never lived. Democrats argue the disputed details are a key example of why judicial review is needed before migrants are whisked away to a foreign prison.
In taking the 2,000-mile trip to San Salvador, Van Hollen earned pushback from the GOP, with White House border czar Tom Homan calling the trip “disgusting.”
“Rather than taking care of the constituents in his state, the victims of illegal crime in his state, he’s going to run to El Salvador to protect an MS-13 terrorist,” Homan said. “It’s just disgusting.”
Van Hollen fired back Friday, saying he had been fighting MS-13 “probably for longer than Donald Trump ever uttered those words.”
Salvadoran officials repeatedly denied Van Hollen’s entreaties earlier in the week, with Vice President Félix Ulloa saying Wednesday he could not arrange a visit to CECOT prison on such short notice and said even a phone call wouldn’t be possible unless the U.S. embassy worked to arrange it.
Undeterred, Van Hollen attempted to visit the prison Thursday.
“We were stopped by soldiers at a checkpoint about 3 kilometers from CECOT prison,” Van Hollen said at a press conference afterward. “We were told by the soldiers that they’d been ordered not to allow us to proceed any further than that point.”
Van Hollen was preparing to leave the country that night when the Salvadoran government relented, delivering Abrego Garcia to the senator’s hotel in plain clothes while suggesting the pair hold their meeting poolside.
“He’s shown his colleagues in both the House and the Senate that they have to start thinking outside the box and be more aggressive. It was a great move. … He showed his colleagues … that there are options out there besides just going along with what Trump and Elon want to do,” said Jim Manley, a former top aide to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
“My hat’s off to him. I’m not sure it’s going to change the situation on the ground for this gentleman, but he showed … they can do much more than maybe they’ve been doing so far.”
Van Hollen’s trip came a little more than two weeks after Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) held the floor for more than 25 hours to speak out against numerous actions by the Trump administration, giving him the longest speech in chamber history in the process.
Those are two prime examples of what Democrats are clamoring for as they look for ways to push back against Trump’s efforts across the federal government.
“What I’m interested in is whether it’s … an indication of more to come,” Manley said. “To me, both of those activities indicate that Democrats are beginning to take a much more aggressive posture towards the Trump administration.”
Van Hollen’s trip also revealed information about Abrego Garcia’s case and detainment, which could play a role in the legal battle over his expulsion.
He said the Salvadoran government said Abrego Garcia has no criminal record in the country and that Ulloa cited U.S. funding as their rationale for keeping him.
“His answer was that the Trump administration is paying the government of El Salvador to keep him at CECOT,” Van Hollen said in a Wednesday press conference, the mountains surrounding San Salvador visible behind him.
Van Hollen said embassy staff on the ground had also received no directive to take any action to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return — something he said was a violation of a Supreme Court order directing the Trump administration to do so.
The senator’s press conferences were well attended by Salvadoran media, putting pressure on Bukele on his home turf.
Van Hollen argued that the rising media attention persuaded the government to change its mind and allow his meeting with Abrego Garcia.
“I think the reason they relented is pretty clear,” Van Hollen said Friday.
“They were feeling the pressure because while I was in El Salvador, we had two major press conferences that included the local press who reported on this. And I think that they decided that it was not a good look to continue to detain Abrego Garcia without anybody having access to him. There’s no other explanation for the fact that they said no, no, no, no, no, and then prevented us from going to prison.”
A surprise delivery of margaritas, which Van Hollen said neither man touched, showed “the lengths that President Bukele will do to deceive people about what’s going on.”
Van Hollen has largely stayed out of the spotlight throughout his Senate tenure, with Manley noting that he has been “kind of quiet” throughout much of those eight years.
“But he sure made a move by going down to El Salvador like this,” he said.
Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), who represents the district where Abrego Garcia lived with his U.S. citizen wife and child, praised Van Hollen for his consistent pressure on the ground while being diplomatic.
“He’s a smart and committed and capable senator,” he said. “He grew up with a parent in the foreign service. He knows the ins and outs of that world better than most.”
It’s not the first time Van Hollen has apparently gone rogue on a humanitarian mission.
In January 2024, Van Hollen traveled with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) to the Gaza Strip, only to be barred from entering when they tried to enter through its border with Egypt.
In the wake of that visit, Van Hollen pressed for improved access for humanitarian organizations trying to aid Palestinians. Van Hollen later drafted what became the Biden administration’s National Security Memorandum 20 — an effort to restrict weapons to allies that could be used for violating human rights.
“Talking to Chris for any amount of time makes one thing perfectly clear: he really cares about people. Over the years, we’ve partnered together to take on powerful interests that harm our families and shine a light on injustices around the globe. I will never forget our visit to Rafah Crossing, which had some of the harshest humanitarian conditions either of us had ever seen,” Merkley said in a statement to The Hill.
“Chris cares deeply about the folks he represents in the Senate, and takes his commitment to being their voice seriously, especially during times of injustice. Chris’ trip to El Salvador, in service of his constituent, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, perfectly represents that commitment to serve and stand up to injustice, no matter where it appears.”
Jennifer Vasquez Sura, Abrego Garcia’s wife, said Van Hollen answered the prayers of her and her children.
“My children and my prayers have been answered. The efforts of my family and community in fighting for justice are being heard, because I now know that my husband is alive,” Sura said in a statement.
“We still have so many questions, hopes, and fears. I will continue praying and fighting for Kilmar’s return home,” she said, thanking Van Hollen and numerous others “for continuing this fight for my family to be reunited.”
Ivey also said he was relieved by Van Hollen’s report on Abrego Garcia’s wellbeing after the Trump administration largely failed to provide the updates on his status requested in court.
“I think the answer in court how he was doing — that made me scared. So I’m glad to see that he’s actually alive and healthy,” he said.
Abrego Garcia has since been transferred out of CECOT, and is now held at another Salvadoran prison. But Van Hollen said his ultimate goal remains to bring him home.
“He’s obviously in a terrible situation, as I said, he’s experienced trauma. He said he’s sad every day. But I think this persistence resulted in having this chance to meet with him, to begin to get a little bit of his story,” Van Hollen said at Dulles.
“And I think it is the first step to ultimately bringing him home, as the constitution requires.”
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