Van Hollen: “I am not defending man, I am defending the rights of this man to due process”

Senator Chris Van Hollen, D-MD., Said Sunday that his recent trip to El Salvador was not about defending Kilmar Abrego García, a resident of Maryland deported despite a court order, but defending the Constitution.

“I am not defending man. I am defending the rights of this man to due process,” Van Hollen told ABC News “This Week” Jonathan Karl on Sunday. “And the Trump administration has admitted in the Court that it was unfairly arrested and unjustly deported. My mission and my purpose is to make sure to defend the rule of law, because if we remove it from it, we put it in danger for everyone else.”

Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador last week to seek answers about the arrest and security of Abrego García, who was deported in March to the notorious Cecot prison of the country, despite a 2019 court order that prohibits his removal due to safety fears. The Trump administration claimed that he was affiliated with the MS-13 gang, an accusation that his lawyers and family firmly denied.

Abrego García, who fled from gang threats in El Salvador in 2011, is married to an American citizen and is the father of a 5 -year -old son with autism. He was arrested by ICE in Maryland on March 12, transferred to a Texas detention center and then deported, something that the administration then called an “administrative error.” He remains under a final removal order.

“I think that, at some point, the president of El Salvador realized that he looked really bad to have this person who had been the dwelling of the streets of Maryland in one of his prisons and could not communicate,” said Van Hollen. “So I ended up receiving a call saying: ‘We will take it to his hotel’, and that’s how we met.” Initially he denied access to Cecot, Van Hollen had been preparing to leave the country when he was notified that Abrego García would be brought.

Karl asked the senator what Abrego García shared during his meeting.

“He told me about the trauma he had been experiencing, both in terms of the kidnapping and the fact that he was originally sent to Cecot, which is this notorious prison,” said Van Hollen. “He specifically mentioned his 5 -year -old son who has autism, because that child had been in the car with him when the American agents had stopped them and handcuffed him and then took him.”

Van Hollen also criticized the role of the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, said his government was “accomplice in this illegal scheme with the Trump administration”, and described it as a violation of international law to avoid any communication with a prisoner.

“The family had not had his news. No one had any contact for weeks,” said Van Hollen. “This is a guy who just kidnapped from the streets of Maryland, put a couple of planes, did not know that he went to El Salvador and ends in the most noticeable prison.”

The senator also addressed questions about optics after the Salvadoran authorities tried to organize the meeting in a hotel pool.

“They really wanted to have the meeting next to the hotel pool,” said Van Hollen. “They wanted to put my right to the pool on the right. You are right that the Salvadoran authorities tried to deceive the people. They tried to seem to be in paradise.”

Karl asked if Van Hollen had entered a trap.

“It was not a trap. My goal was to meet him and make sure to tell his wife and his family that was fine. That was my goal, and I achieved that goal,” said the senator.

Van Hollen also intervened in broader implications for presidential power.

“This is a person that the courts of the United States have determined that it was illegally taken from the United States,” he said. “And all my purpose here is to make sure to observe the rule of law, the Constitution, due process, rights … only demonstrates the duration that Bukele and Trump will try to deceive people about what this case is about, and simply comply with the order of the Supreme Court to facilitate their return and make sure that it obtains due process.”

From the Trump administration, Van Hollen said: “This is where they should put their deeds: they should put it before court. They should bet or shut up before the court, because the judge of the District Court in this case said, and I quote:” They do not put evidence that they link Abrego García with MS-13 or with any other terrorist activity. “

On the criticisms of the Republicans that the Democrats defend a member of a gang, Van Hollen backed down strongly.

“The idea that they cannot defend the rights of people under the Constitution and fight against MS-13 and gang violence is a very dangerous idea. That is the idea that the president wants to take out. That’s why all these lies are spreading.” Van Hollen said. “I would say that anyone who is not prepared to defend the constitutional rights of a man when they threaten everyone’s constitutional rights does not deserve to lead.”