WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Van Hollen accused the Trump administration Sunday of “outright defying” court orders to return a wrongly deported Maryland man whom Van Hollen met with in El Salvador last week, and he urged the administration to stop releasing unfavorable records about the man.
“They are flouting the courts as we speak,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Facilitating his return means something more than doing nothing, and they are doing nothing.”
Van Hollen, D-Md., traveled to El Salvador last week to press for the release of the man, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who was deported to a notorious Salvadoran prison in March in what an administration lawyer described as an “administrative error.”
A federal appeals court on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to take a more active role in bringing back Abrego Garcia, a few days after the Supreme Court ruled that the government should “facilitate” his return from El Salvador.
Instead, the White House has publicized an allegation of domestic abuse from Abrego Garcia’s wife from 2021, when she sought a protective order. Abrego Garcia’s wife said last week that the two “were able to work through this situation privately.”
The administration also cited a police filing from a Tennessee trooper who stopped Abrego Garcia on a highway in 2022 and raised suspicion of human trafficking. Federal law enforcement officials instructed the trooper not to detain him, and Abrego Garcia’s wife has said he routinely drove workers to their jobs.
“What Donald Trump is trying to do is change the subject,” Van Hollen said Sunday. “Put up or shut up in court instead of litigating this through social media.”
He added, “If you have evidence, take it to the court.”
On Wednesday, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, also brought Patty Morin, the mother of Rachel Morin, who was killed by an immigrant in the country without legal permission, to a press briefing to lay out details about the brutal murder — a case unrelated to Abrego Garcia.
A federal judge has described the government’s claims accusing Abrego Garcia of being a member of the transnational street gang, MS-13, as “unsubstantiated” and as based on “nothing more than his Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie.”
On Sunday, Van Hollen expressed his sympathies toward Morin’s family while emphasizing the importance of ensuring due process for all of those in the United States.
“I’m very glad that the killer of Rachel has been convicted in a court of law — that is how we hold guilty people accountable,” Van Hollen said.
“You can crack down and hold guilty people accountable and also respect the due process rights of everybody who is in court,” he added. “I am not sure why Abrego Garcia’s rights should be denied based on an awful murder that he had absolutely nothing to do with.”
In multiple TV appearances on Sunday, Van Hollen warned that the outcome of Abrego Garcia’s case could ultimately threaten the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens.
“When you trample on the constitutional rights of one man, you threaten the constitutional rights of every American,” he said. “This is not a case about just one man whose constitutional rights are being ignored and disrespected.”
Van Hollen also responded to some Democrats who were critical of his trip and the attention Abrego Garcia’s case has generated, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called the issue “a distraction” from economic issues such as President Trump’s tariffs.
“I think Americans are tired of elected officials or politicians putting a finger to the wind,” Van Hollen said, when asked specifically about Newsom’s comment. “Anyone who can’t stand for the constitution doesn’t deserve to lead.”
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