Tipsheet

Chris Van Hollen Is Still Talking about Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  May 18, 2025 9:00 AM

Some Democrats have realized how unpopular it is to rally around Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who has been dubbed as “Maryland man,” with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) reportedly telling members to stop going to El Salvador. Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) does not look to have gotten the memo. The senator not only traveled abroad last month to inquire about the illegal immigrant, but he’s also still posting about him.

On Thursday, Van Hollen shared a video of himself with Félix Ulloa, the vice president of El Salvador. The video appears to be from last month, making his obsession with this topic even more noteworthy. The senator also used it as an excuse to claim that President Donald Trump is violating an order from the U.S. Supreme Court to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return. 

That very same day, Van Hollen went to the Senate floor for over eight minutes to rant and rave about the supposed “due process” for Abrego Garcia, which he called out the Trump administration for. He even posted the floor speech multiple times, including in its full version and a shorter clip of his remarks. 

The Democratic senator, whose party is in the minority, was complaining about how “Republicans blocked our bill to hold the Trump Admin and the government of El Salvador accountable for their conspiracy to violate due process rights of people living in the U.S.” 

As seems to be a common refrain from Van Hollen and other supporters of Abrego Garcia, the senator also issued quite a warning. “This isn't just about Mr. Abrego Garcia — this is about defending the rights of ALL. Shameful,” he claimed.

Recommended

The Democrats Are in Such a State of Disaster, Even the NYT Can't Spin It Matt Vespa
Wait, Did James Comey Just Threaten Republicans Again? Matt Vespa

Also on Thursday, Van Hollen’s office put out a press release, “Van Hollen, Markey, Colleagues Question Legality of Trump Administration’s Multi-Million Dollar Payment to El Salvador to Imprison Migrants from U.S.,” outlining concerns directed at Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

Van Hollen wasn’t even the only one to bring up Abrego Garcia on Thursday and use the illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member against the president. That same day, Rep. Al Green (D-TX) made good on his promise to file articles of impeachment against the president. His resolution, which is nine pages long and is all about Trump supposedly being an “authoritarian President,” mentions Abrego Garcia 16 times.

Van Hollen’s claims about the Court ruling from Thursday wasn’t the only time in recent days he brought it up. He did so again on Saturday afternoon, calling the Trump administration’s defense “laughable.” If one wants to talk about something that is “laughable,” though, his post also went to claim that the Trump administration’s “trying to make a mockery of the rule of law.”

The senator also reminded he’s not only obsessed with this “Maryland man,” but how anti-Israel he is, given he posted a screenshot of the World Food Programme, which is part of the anti-Israel United Nations on Saturday afternoon. “Risk of famine across all of Gaza, new report says,” the headline from May 12 read.

“The U.S. is complicit in this gross violation of international law,” Van Hollen claimed as part of his post ranting about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.