Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) said he was denied access to meet with his constituent, Salvadorian national Kilmar Abrego Garcia, during his recent visit to El Salvador.
Ivey traveled to the Central American nation to check in on Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported by the federal government earlier this year. He was initially held in El Salvador’s most notorious prison CECOT, a terrorist confinement center, but has been moved to a lower security prison.
The Maryland Democrat said in a 45-second video posted online Monday, that his team made a formal request with the Salvadoran ambassador to the U.S. before the trip but were later told that they needed to obtain a permit.
“We ought to have a chance to come in and visit, they knew we were coming in and why we were coming and then we have the right to do this, so they need to just cut the crap,” Ivey said.
The Supreme Court earlier this year ruled that President Trump must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. The Trump administration has not done so.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele also said he will not return the man, whom the administration has accused of being part of MS-13, a transnational gang that is designated as a foreign terrorist organization. Abrego Garcia’s attorney and family have denied the accusation.
The man, who was living in Maryland, was shielded by an immigration judge in 2019 from being deported to El Salvador. A Justice Department attorney said in late March that Abrego Garcia, who entered the country illegally, was removed due to an “administrative error.”
“Let us in, stop playing games, let us have a chance to talk with him,” Ivey said Monday.
His comments come after Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) met with Abrego Garcia last month in El Salvador.
