With Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return to U.S. to face charges, Van Hollen says "it's about his constitutional rights"

CBS News

2 days ago

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen shared his thoughts after news that Kilmar Abrego Garcia has returned to the U.S. to face federal charges nearly four months after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia illegally entered the U.S. in 2011 and settled in Maryland. He was taken into custody by federal immigration officials on March 13. He was among nearly 230 other people who were deported to a Salvadoran prison on March 15.
Criminal allegations against Kilmar Abrego Garcia
An indictment unsealed Friday shows that Abrego Garcia is facing two federal charges.
The charges, filed in a federal district court in Nashville, Tennessee, accuse Abrego Garcia of conspiracy to transport aliens and unlawfully transporting undocumented people, according to CBS News.
According to the indictment, a grand jury found that Abrego Garcia had a role in an alien smuggling ring that involved children and women over the last decade.
If convicted, Abrego Garcia would be imprisoned in the U.S. before he is returned to El Salvador.
Maryland leaders react to Abrego Garcia's return
Abrego Garcia's case drew attention from leaders and advocates across the nation, including Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Congressman Glenn Ivey.
Both Van Hollen and Ivey traveled to El Salvador to meet with Abrego Garcia, though Ivey was denied access.
Both leaders have called for Abrego Garcia's return and have called out the Trump administration for denying due process in the case.
"For months, the Trump Administration flouted the Supreme Court and our Constitution," Van Hollen said in a statement Friday. "Today, they appear to have finally relented to our demands for compliance with court orders and with the due process rights afforded to everyone in the United States. As I have repeatedly said, this is not about the man, it's about his constitutional rights – and the rights of all. The Administration will now have to make its case in the court of law, as it should have all along."
Van Hollen has been a vocal supporter of Abrego Garcia's right to due process, going so far as to pen a letter to President Trump.
"Your comments and the actions of your Administration clearly demonstrate your failure to comply with court orders as you continue to violate Mr. Abrego Garcia's constitutional and due process rights," Van Hollen wrote to the president in April.
Timeline of Abrego Garcia's deportation case
Abrego Garcia sued the Trump administration over his deportation to El Salvador, saying a withholding of removal order granted to him in 2019 should have prevented the action.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) admitted that Abergo Garcia was deported due to an "administrative error" and "oversight."
In April, a federal judge and the Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return to the U.S. The Supreme Court then sent the case back to federal court.
In early May, the administration was accused of stonewalling court orders after invoking the state secrets privilege, which allows them to withhold information.
Abrego Garcia remained in custody as his case played out. He was moved from the notorious CECOT prison to a lower-security facility in mid-April, days before he met with Sen. Van Hollen.
In a procedural move, the Trump administration asked a federal judge to dismiss Abrego Garcia's lawsuit on May 28.
As Abrego Garcia's case played out in court, the Trump administration continued to allege he was a member of the MS-13 gang.
Those allegations stemmed from his arrest in 2019, during which law enforcement reported that Abrego Garcia was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and a hoodie that were "indicative of Hispanic gang culture."
At that time, police were informed by a source that Abrego Garcia was an active member of MS-13, according to court documents.
Abrego Garcia's attorneys have repeatedly denied the gang ties, saying he does not have a criminal history in the U.S. or in El Salvador.