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Van Hollen's Post From 2017 on MS-13 Comes Back to Haunt Him

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  April 22, 2025 1:15 PM

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) has been talking quite a bit about "Maryland man," a deported illegal immigrant whose real name is Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia. The Trump administration has provided evidence that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13, with the release of documents last week coming the same day that Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador to visit Abrego Garcia. Van Hollen's focus becomes even more curious, given that back in 2017, during the first Trump administration, he was posting to his X account about concerns with MS-13 gang members.

"Shame on President Trump for tearing apart hardworking immigrant families," Van Hollen lamented in a post from close to eight years ago. He also went on to reference MS-13, indicating that "We should be focused on MS-13, not scholarship winners." Van Hollen was referencing the deportation of Lizandro Claros Saravia, who went on to become a "rising soccer star" in El Salvador. 

The resurfacing of such a post, which now has over 200 replies, is full of people recently calling on the senator to show more care and concern about his own actual constituents, rather than illegal immigrants.

And again, there is evidence that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13, though Van Hollen and other Democrats have been clamoring for his return, even traveling to El Salvador.

Many of the quoted reposts, including from Alex Pfeiffer at the Trump White House, pointed out Abrego Garcia's affiliation, with Pfeiffer even asking for applause over the administration deporting the illegal immigrant.

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Van Hollen had been confronted about Abrego Garcia's gang member status by various moderators of all the Sunday show appearances he did earlier this week. This notably included during the senator's appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," as Guy covered on Monday. 

When moderator Dana Bash brought up MS-13, Van Hollen tried to change the subject and refused to say if he himself could or could not say with certainty that Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13, instead deferring to what Abrego Garcia himself has said. 

As he has done on other media appearances, Van Hollen tried to put the focus on due process and constitutional rights, which is absurd, given that Abrego Garcia is not even an American citizen, but one who admitted to coming into the country illegally.

When Bash reminded the senator of how Abrego Garcia came here, Van Hollen expressed a specific concern for the man he has dubbed "Maryland man" and even referred to multiple times by his first name, though he is not a citizen, be "given his due process rights under the Constitution."

He also, ironically given how much he had been speaking out about Abrego Garcia from his own X account, spoke out against President Donald Trump "go[ing] off on social media" about the case.