Chris Van Hollen condemns ‘unjust situation’ and says vice-president blocked access to wrongly deported man***
Maryland’s Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen says the government of El Salvador has denied his request to visit Kilmar Ábrego García, his constituent who was wrongly deported to the Central American country last month.
Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador on Wednesday with the intention of meeting Ábrego García at the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), where US authorities have said that the Maryland resident is being held along with others deported at Donald Trump’s orders.
The senator’s visit came days after Trump and El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, refused to take steps to return Ábrego García to the United States, even though the US supreme court last week said the administration must “facilitate” his return.
Ugh, I’m getting the bad feeling that the poor guy is dead.
At this point I’d be demanding proof that he’s still alive and well.
No one is certain, but yeah, he’s most likely dead. They threw him in with gang members that he immigrated to the US to escape. And naturally, US media blasted that fact 24/7. He probably died in the first few days.
This feels like the obvious answer. Likely why they “couldn’t do anything”
Te be fair, it’s not much of a concentration camp if people are just going to be alive in there all the time. /s
I laugh at your comment, but then I cry because of the situation.
I’ll say it: dudes probably already six feet under.
Probably just two if we’re being honest.
2 might be generous
Why would he expect any different; that ‘prison’ has never permitted any visitors, gifts, mail, nor has it ever released a live prisoner.
US Senators generally get what they want with these types of things, especially when they visit in person. They’re direct representatives of the Legislative Branch of the US government, and have as much, if not more control than the Executive Branch (when they are actually doing their job).
Telling a Senator no, in person, generally isn’t something you do unless you don’t have another choice. Like if the person they want to talk to is actually dead but you have been saying they’re alive.
I mean, I don’t totally disagree here, but I’m not sure what kind of clout that’s supposed to hold under team Trump.
Like, understanding this isn’t a perfect analogy, if I were working in an American prison holding a Russian prisoner and a Putin-aligned legislator wanted to see that prisoner I would take great pleasure in telling them to fuck off if I had that power.
The difference would be that presumably we’d be holding that prisoner despite Russians wishes not because of them. We paid for them (are paying?) to hold this guy. He’s not their prisoner, he’s ours. The whole situation is fucked but that analogy isn’t quite accurate.
I made it on the fly, but the point is that the clout goes away when 1) you’re not my senator, 2) you’re not a legislator in my country and 3) you go against everything I stand for - what kind of clout am I supposed to feel from someone like that?
It should be fairly normal to decline a random politician from another country a request no one else gets.
It reeks a bit of American exceptionalism that US senators should get special rights. If a random politician from, say, the Netherlands asked to see someone held in Guantanamo Bay the US will do fuck all to accommodate this request.
My comment is not a justification for the deportation of that guy by the way. I just don’t think it should be notable, as random politicians usually enjoy much, much fewer rights than head of states.
I mean… I don’t think it’s exceptional for an American politician to want to see a prison setup for American detainees.
I can’t reason why you would make this comment, I have to assume no logic was used. How about the fact that ICE admitted that the man was deported in error, is that enough justification? Your comparison makes no sense because it assumes the man is being imprisoned for just cause. The Maryland man was a constituent of the Maryland senator.
I’m tired of the whataboutism bullshit rhetoric.
It assumes the man is being imprisoned for just cause
Guantanamo Bay doesn’t rely on any cause though? It’s literally a US torture camp where nothing matters. No due process, no just cause, no nothing. It’s worse than CECOT in everything but scale.
Have you ever seen any country’s opposition figure successfully demand something from another country? I personally haven’t. Usually the government alone controls any and all foreign relations.
Hell, Israel has literally detained and deported two British MPs on a parliamentary delegation - not just a visit. And they’re part of the governing party, no less!
It’s genuinely not surprising that El Salvador reacts this way. It’s the literal default reaction to a nongovernmental politician demanding something.
And yes, I think it’s appalling that the I US deports anyone and everyone, legally or otherwise. This doesn’t affect El Salvador though since they detain whoever the US sends there. The US argues this man is a terrorist, therefore this is sufficient justification for them.
Had Britain started deporting migrants to Rwanda and a MP from the Green Party requested to visit someone “mistakenly” deported, they would’ve been denied access as well.
I just really don’t think there’s anything noteworthy in the rejection alone.
I don’t know what the point is that you’re making. No one is saying this is something that’s new, but the example you used, Guantanamo Bay has like 15 prisoners now? Are you saying this should be regarded as commonplace?
They allowed kristi noem to visit.
But she’s a puppy killer so she’s OK and in tbe same side as the people driving the Deportations.
Update: Sen Van Hollen stuck around and fought for it, and in the end was able to meet with him:
