Topline
Four Democratic Congress members advocating for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, were denied a meeting Monday with the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, according to multiple outlets, days after Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., met with him on a congressionally approved visit.
Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., said the request for a meeting was denied. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, … More
Key Facts
Reps. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., Robert Garcia, D-Calif., Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., and Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., had their request to meet Abrego Garcia denied by the El Salvadoran government, with Frost telling MSNBC the meeting was blocked because the lawmakers’ visit was not an official visit.
Frost said he and Garcia sent a letter to House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., asking for the visit to be an official congressional delegation, though Comer denied that request last week and blasted the Democrats, saying it was “absurd” they sought to “travel at Committee expense to meet with foreign gang members.”
Comer echoed the Trump administration’s allegation that Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member, an accusation denied by the Maryland man and challenged by District Court Judge Paula Xinis, who also ordered the government to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S.
Frost said the Democrats were “not giving up” and wanted to “make sure to keep the conversation alive” regarding Abrego Garcia, telling MSNBC there is not full confirmation of what facility he is being held in (the Trump administration said in a Monday filing Abrego Garcia was being held at Centro Industrial penitentiary facility in Santa Ana).
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What Happened In Van Hollen’s Meeting With Abrego Garcia?
Van Hollen’s in-person meeting with Abrego Garcia was held last Thursday after the senator was initially denied a chance to speak with the Maryland man. The meeting was held at an undisclosed location separate from El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, where Abrego Garcia was held when he first arrived in the country. Van Hollen said he passed on messages from Abrego Garcia’s wife and later learned Abrego Garcia had been moved to Centro Industrial, where conditions were better but still lacked the means for Abrego Garcia to communicate with the outside world, according to Van Hollen. The senator also accused the El Salvadoran government of staging a photo during the meeting after the country’s president, Nayib Bukele, claimed Abrego Garcia and the senator were drinking margaritas during the photographed encounter. Van Hollen denied the claim, saying government aides had placed two drinks down during the meeting that were not ordered. He said the drink placed in front of Abrego Garcia had less liquid than the other, making it seem like it was partially consumed, and noted photos of the meeting where the salt or sugar on the rims of the drinks were untouched.
Key Background
Van Hollen, Frost and other Democrats are pushing for Abrego Garcia’s release from El Salvador, taking issue with his abrupt deportation carried out while he had an immigration status allowing him to legally work and live in the U.S. on a temporary basis. The White House has also acknowledged Abrego Garcia was deported over a “clerical error.” Van Hollen said in multiple interviews over the weekend he was not vouching for Abrego Garcia personally, but was instead vouching for “his constitutional rights to due process.” Democrats have also cited orders from Xinis and the Supreme Court ordering the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S., but the government has argued it does not have the authority to bring him back and repeatedly accused him of being an MS-13 member. Xinis said early this month the government had not offered any “evidence linking Abrego Garcia to MS-13 or to any terrorist activity,” encouraging the Trump administration to present the allegations in a court of law.
Further Reading
Van Hollen Criticizes Newsom’s ‘Distraction Of The Day’ Comment About Abrego Garcia (Forbes)
Sen. Van Hollen Says Trump Administration Made $15 Million Deal With El Salvador To Imprison Deportees Including Abrego Garcia (Forbes)
Sen. Van Hollen Meets Kilmar Abrego Garcia In El Salvador (Forbes)
Trump Administration Says It Will Simply Re-Deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia If He Is Brought Back To U.S. (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/04/21/four-democrats-blocked-from-meeting-with-abrego-garcia-amid-push-for-return-to-us/