U.S. Senator Chris Van meets with deported Salvadoran
Kilmar Ábrego García remains detained in El Salvador as tensions grow between some U.S. officials and the Bukele administration.
Salvadoran man who was mistakenly deported from the United States despite having judicial protection. The Trump administration acknowledges that it was an "administrative mistake" but neither the US government nor the Salvadoran government are doing anything for García's return.
The deportee was sent since March, along with other migrants, to the maximum-security prison Cecot, despite the Salvadoran's judicial authorization. The senator's ultimate goal was to visit García and inform his family that he was fine. However, this gesture caused diplomatic controversy.
Diplomatic conflicts and ridicule from El Salvador
After the senator's visit, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele refused to release García and posted photos of the meeting on the social media platform "X" The post was accompanied by comments such as "he miraculously rose from the extermination camps" and asserted that it was "his honor" to remain in custody in his country.
The White House accuses García of being a member of the MS-13 gang, which his lawyer vehemently denies. The case has sparked debate about immigration policy and the judiciary's actions against the executive branch. Meanwhile, human rights organizations and sectors of Congress are putting pressure on the situation.
ALSO SEE: Salvadoran president Bukele refuses to repatriate Kilmar Abrego Garcia, wrongly deported by U.S.
Legal Tension and Political Polarization in the US
Judge Pula Xinis ruled in 2019 that García could not be deported. The United States Supreme Court added to the case that his return must be "facilitated." However, the Trump administration refuses to comply with this, citing arguments related to social security.
From the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt declared that García "will never live in the United States of America." Rachel Morin, the mother of a woman murdered by a Salvadoran man, added to the official statement, linking the case to the need for stricter immigration policies.