Senator Chris Van Hollen said on Thursday night that he had met in San Salvador with Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man whose wrongful deportation to El Salvador last month has become a flashpoint in the immigration debate and fueled a standoff between the Trump administration and the courts.Dems decided immigration was their "loser" issue but there is a big difference between "Do you approve of Donald Trump deporting people with criminal records?" and "Do you approve of Donald Trump kidnapping people and sending them to a concentration camp for no reason?" Americans have shitty opinions about "immigration" in part because no one explains how cruel the system is.
Mr. Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, shared a photo of the two men speaking on Thursday evening, hours after the senator had been denied entry to the prison where Mr. Abrego Garcia was being held.
Polls always show that when you give people the specifics they don't really like it. They just need it to be explained to them.
And sometimes you do the right thing even if the polls aren't obviously on your side because it's the right fucking thing to do.
I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@vanhollen.senate.gov) April 18, 2025 at 2:02 AM
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