U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., said Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s family hasn’t heard from him in over three weeks.
Family, lawmakers call the for return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
“History will always remember you.” Family and lawmakers called for the return of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
Latino House Democrats want a look inside the notorious mega-prison in El Salvador where the Trump administration has sent hundreds of migrants accused of gang ties.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said Wednesday that representatives want to check on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland father and Salvadoran migrant mistakenly deported due to an administrative error. He’s been held in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, also known as CECOT, since mid-March.
Members of Congress have the right to conduct surprise inspections of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, but their power doesn’t extend to El Salvador. Espaillat said the Hispanic Caucus plans to write and call Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who is expected to to visit the White House next week, to gain entrance.
Abrego Garcia’s family is suing the Trump administration for his return to the U.S. from CECOT in a case now before the Supreme Court. His family has said they haven’t heard from the 29-year-old sheet metal worker in over three weeks.
“The family deserves to know his condition,” Espaillat told reporters. “If they don’t tell us, we will visit the prison ourselves to go visit him.”
The trip would focus on Abrego Garcia, a spokesperson for Espaillat said, though officials worry about human rights issues in CECOT.
CECOT has drawn criticism from human rights observers its harsh and dangerous conditions, as well as its treatment of people held in custody without due process. The Trump administration invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport the migrants. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld Trump’s policy with some limitations.
The announcement by Latino Democrats adds to growing concern and criticism of the administration’s policy to deport hundreds of migrants to El Salvador and house them in CECOT under a $6 million agreement. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited the prison in late March, when Abrego Garcia was held there.
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, described El Salvador as “a beautiful country, but a country with a leader who has become a mercenary.” Abrego Garcia and others are now held in “gulags” in El Salvador, he said. The Salvadoran embassy in Washington didn’t return a request for comment.
Bukele, a strong ally of President Donald Trump, has been credited with a historic drop in crime and gang violence in El Salvador, making it one of the safest countries in Latin America. He’s done so, in part, by incarcerating thousands of people in his country’s prisons including CECOT, opened in 2023, which can house up to 40,000 people.
Trump officials have argued they can’t return Abrego Garcia since he’s no longer in American custody and now in Salvadoran custody. The administration has accused him of ties to the MS-13 gang, though his family has denied this. A federal judge in Maryland lambasted the administration for not presenting evidence of any ties. He has not been charged with any crimes.
Last week, Bukele posted a letter from Trump inviting him to the White House. Trump thanked him for his “assistance on protecting Americans from illegal border activity” and his “partnership to use El Salvador’s new supermax prison” to house people Trump accused of being MS-13 or Tren de Aragua gang members.
In June, Espaillat visited El Salvador to attend Bukele’s inauguration after his re-election.
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