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A man from Maryland was wrongly deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration contrary to a standing court order in the US.
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen has now confirmed that Kilmar Ábrego García has been moved to a different prison in El Salvador.
Van Hollen visited El Salvador and met with Mr. Ábrego García, who had been held at Cecot, a huge prison known for harsh conditions. He said Mr. Ábrego García was “traumatized” and afraid while there, but was moved to another jail over a week ago.
Although the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the government to help bring Mr. Ábrego García back, Trump officials are still refusing to let him return. The White House claims he is a member of the violent MS-13 gang, which the administration has classified as a terrorist group.
But Mr. Ábrego García has never been convicted of any crime. His family and lawyers strongly deny that he has any gang ties.
Senator Van Hollen said that at first, Salvadoran authorities stopped him from seeing Mr. Ábrego García. But later, officials allowed a meeting at the senator’s hotel.
Van Hollen said the meeting was the first time Mr. Ábrego García had spoken to anyone outside the prison since he was taken. Mr. Ábrego García told him he was sad to be in jail, especially since he had done nothing wrong.
The senator said the new prison in Santa Ana is better, but Mr. Ábrego García still has no contact with the outside world.
His case is part of a bigger conflict between the Trump administration and U.S. courts over immigration. Judges have ruled that the government must allow Mr. Ábrego García to return, but Trump officials insist he never will.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that if he returns, he would be deported again immediately.
President Trump claimed Mr. Ábrego García is “not very innocent.” There were two past accusations against him, but he was never convicted.
In 2021, his wife accused him of physical abuse in a protective order request. She later dropped the case, saying they had worked things out through counseling.
In 2022, police in Tennessee stopped him for speeding. The officer suspected human trafficking because he was transporting several people from Texas to Maryland. But no charges were filed. His wife explained he was moving construction workers between job sites.
The Trump administration used the Alien Enemies Act to deport him, arguing that alleged gang members are terrorists. Hundreds of others have been deported this way.
Senator Van Hollen accused Trump officials of lying about the case. He said if they had real evidence, they should present it in court—not online.
Mr. Ábrego García was arrested in Baltimore on March 12 and deported from Texas on March 15.
Sources: BBC, CNN.
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