A US senator has met with a man who Trump administration officials have acknowledged was deported in error from Maryland to a mega-prison in El Salvador. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen posted photos of his meeting with Kilmar Ábrego García, whom the administration has refused to return to the US despite an order from a federal judge. After the meeting, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele also refused to release Ábrego García and said he would remain in the country's custody. The White House has accused Ábrego García of being a member of the transnational Salvadoran gang MS-13, a designated foreign terrorist organization, which his lawyer denies. The meeting comes amid an escalating showdown between the president and the courts on immigration, a day after a judge in another case said the administration could be held in contempt of court over deportation flights. "I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance," the Democratic senator posted on social media. "I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return." The White House attacked the visit and called it "disgusting". "Chris Van Hollen has firmly established Democrats as the party whose top priority is the welfare of an illegal alien MS-13 terrorist," White House spokesman Kush Desai said. "It is truly disgusting. President Trump will continue to stand on the side of law-abiding Americans." Before the meeting, the senator said he was stopped earlier in the day by armed guards on his way to Cecot, the maximum-security prison where Ábrego García has been detained. Van Hollen arrived in the country on Wednesday hoping to secure the release of Ábrego García, who was a resident of his state. The senator did not offer an update on Ábrego García's status in his social media posts, but he said more information would be released when he was back in the US. Ábrego García's wife celebrated the news and said her "prayers have been answered". "The efforts of my family and community in fighting for justice are being heard, because I now know that my husband is alive," Jennifer Vasquez Sura said. "God is listening, and the community is standing strong." She said her family still has many questions and will continue fighting for his release. During his trip, Sen Van Hollen said he also met with the country's vice-president and asked they open the doors so Ábrego García could leave the prison, a request he says was rejected. On X, El Salvador's president reposted the photos of the senator meeting Ábrego García and appeared to mock the concern over the inmate's wellbeing. President Bukele commented that Ábrego García had "miraculously risen from the 'death camps' & 'torture'" in the "tropical paradise of El Salvador". "Now that he's been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador's custody," the president added. Ábrego García was living in Maryland, before he was deported on 15 March with scores of Salvadorans and Venezuelans to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (Cecot) in El Salvador. Maryland Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Ábrego García's removal from the country breached a 2019 court order that had granted him legal protection from deportation. — BBC
