By Susan Heavey
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – El Salvador is only detaining an El Salvadoran man mistakenly deported from Maryland because the country is receiving U.S. payments, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen said in letter to the White House on Tuesday.
Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, said his recent meeting with El Salvador’s vice president shows President Donald Trump’s failure to follow court orders.
In a separate statement, Van Hollen said Salvadoran Vice President Felix Ulloa told him this month that the Central American nation was holding Kilmar Abrego Garcia “solely because the United States is paying the country to do so.”
He said, “we have a deal with the U.S. government. They send people. We host them. They pay. And that’s it,'” the senator wrote in the letter to Trump, citing Ulloa.
Their conversation “clearly demonstrates that the government of El Salvador has no independent legal basis for imprisoning Mr. Abrego Garcia,” Van Hollen added. “The only reason for keeping him in prison is that they entered into an agreement with your Administration to be paid by the United States.”
Representatives for the White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Van Hollen, who says the case illustrates the risks to everyone’s due process and constitutional rights, met with Garcia in El Salvador after the U.S. Supreme Court told Trump’s administration to “facilitate” Garcia’s return to the U.S.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who was living in Maryland and has had a work permit since 2019, was detained by U.S. immigration officers in March and questioned about alleged ties with MS-13, which the administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization. His lawyers deny any gang affiliation.
He was deported on one of three deportation flights to El Salvador with Venezuelan migrants. The Trump administration, in a court filing after Abrego Garcia and his family challenged the deportation in court, acknowledged he was sent in error.
In an interview with Time magazine published on Friday, Trump said he was leaving the case up to his lawyers.
Asked about White House efforts to follow the court order, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt on Monday cited El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s comments during an April 14 meeting with Trump, telling reporters: “El Salvador does not intend to smuggle a designated foreign terrorist back into the United States… the administration intends to comply with what President Bukele said.”
Lawyers for the Venezuelan men also sent to the notorious CECOT prison where Abrego Garcia had been held have also urged a judge to order the Trump’s administration to facilitate their return.
A lawyer for 10 of the men on Monday said they were denied access to their clients during a trip El Salvador.
Trump has touted his immigration crackdown as he marks his 100th day in office this week. While immigration has been Trump’s strongest area of support, a Reuters/Ipsos poll last week found respondents split on his handling of the issue.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by David Gregorio)
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