Maryland Congressman Visits El Salvador to Meet Deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Democrat Congressman Glenn Ivey of Maryland traveled to El Salvador to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who was controversially deported from the U.S. under the Trump administration's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act. Despite a unanimous Supreme Court order requiring the administration to facilitate Garcia's return, he remains detained in El Salvador's maximum-security terrorism confinement center, amid allegations linking him to the MS-13 gang and human trafficking, which he denies. Ivey's visit, following a similar trip by Senator Chris Van Hollen, aims to pressure the Trump administration to comply with the court order and scrutinize the $6 million deal between the U.S. and El Salvador to house deported gang members. Garcia was initially granted protection from removal in 2019 due to credible threats from gangs in El Salvador, but was later deported after an alleged administrative error. The Trump administration has invoked state secrets privilege to withhold information about efforts to return Garcia, a move criticized by a federal judge. Ivey also intends to investigate the broader treatment of deported individuals and meet others facing life imprisonment in El Salvador.