Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said he was blocked Thursday from entering the El Salvador prison that is holding the Maryland resident who the courts say was erroneously deported from the United States last month.
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen in a video posted to his YouTube account, April 17, 2025.
Senator Chris Van Hollen/YouTube
The Maryland senator, who flew to the country on Wednesday, shared a video on social media showing guards stopping him and others from entering CECOT, where Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being held.
The Supreme Court and a Maryland federal judge ordered that the U.S. government “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. after the Department of Justice said in court filings that the 29-year-old father was wrongfully deported because of an “administrative error.” The Trump administration has alleged it cannot bring him back and claimed outside of court that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang.
Salvadoran soldiers stand guard at the CECOT prison, in Tecoluca, El Salvador April 4, 2025.
Jose Cabezas/Reuters
Van Hollen was joined by Chris Newman, who he said is the attorney for Abrego Garcia’s wife and mother, and said they are trying to check on the deported man’s condition.
The video also showed Van Hollen and Newman speaking to prison guards, who were visibly shaking their heads “no.”
“These soldiers were ordered to prevent us from going any farther from this spot,” Van Hollen said. “I understand we’re about three kilometers now from CECOT, and as you can see, they’re letting other cars go by, but they stopped us because they’re under orders not to allow us to proceed to check on the well-being of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.”
Undated photo provided by CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, in April 2025, shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
CASA via AP
Over the last couple of weeks, Republican members of Congress have gained access to the prison and posted pictures on their social media pages from inside the complex.
Van Hollen later told reporters that he made his request to visit the prison to the U.S. Embassy, which then passed the request to El Salvador’s government.
The senator said he also asked El Salvador’s vice president on Wednesday to visit the facility.
“I emphasized my goal was to check on his health and well-being,” he said.
The White House slammed Van Hollen for making the trip and advocating for Abrego Garcia on Wednesday. The administration and DOJ have claimed with little evidence that Abrego Garcia is a gang member.
The DOJ has not charged Abrego Garcia with any gang-related crimes and his alleged MS-13 membership has been disputed in court.
A federal judge and the Supreme Court ordered the government to take all available steps to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia to the U.S., and on Wednesday, the DOJ filed a notice that it is appealing.
President Donald Trump weighed in on the situation on Thursday and claimed he wasn’t involved.
“I was elected to get rid of those criminals, to get them out of our country or to put them away, but to get them out of our country. And I don’t see how judges can take that authority away from a president,” he told reporters.