WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats, including Maryland’s Chris Van Hollen, introduced legislation Thursday that would require the Trump administration to report how it is complying with court orders regarding the wrongful deportation of U.S. citizens and residents to El Salvador.
The legislation, sponsored by Van Hollen, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, and Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Alex Padilla of California, also would make the administration confirm the use of American security assistance to support the detention of U.S. residents and assess El Salvador’s human rights record.
“If you think you can take steps like this without Congress challenging your executive overreach, you’re wrong,” Kaine said at a press conference outside the United States Capitol. “And I’ll also send a message to the government of El Salvador, you might think it’s cute right now to grab attention by a bromance with President Trump, … and if you think we’ll forget you violating the human rights of American citizens, you’re wrong.”
“We will remember this forever, and there will be significant and challenging downstream consequences for any nation that violates the rights of Americans,” Kaine said.
The legislation is “privileged,” which means the Senate will be forced to vote on the measure, giving Republicans an opportunity to publicly express their views on Trump’s deportation process. The timing of the vote will be negotiated between Schumer and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota.
Under the legislation, if the administration fails to produce the report, security assistance to El Salvador would be illegal under federal law. If a submitted report was insufficient, the Senate could file additional privileged legislation to terminate security assistance, Kaine said.
The senators’ move comes in the wake of the wrongful deportation of Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
A federal judge, an appeals court and the Supreme Court all ordered the administration, which admitted in court last month that the deportation was an error, to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return. But Trump has refused to do so, even after claiming he had the power to in an interview with ABC News Tuesday.
“If he were the gentleman that you say he is, I would do that. But he is not,” Trump said. The president and his administration have claimed Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang to justify his deportation.
“We’re not vouching for Kilmar Abrego Garcia,” Van Hollen said Thursday. “We are vouching for his constitutional rights, because if you trample over his constitutional rights, you threaten them for every American and everyone who resides in America.”
Van Hollen is the only person outside of El Salvador to speak with Abrego Garcia since his deportation, the senator said. During his time in the country, Van Hollen said he also met with multiple human rights groups, who described mistreatment in prisons by El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele.
The Department of State’s 2023 human rights report on the country found there were credible reports of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment in its prisons.
The United States plans to compensate El Salvador $15 million to house deported residents and has already paid the country roughly $4 million, Van Hollen confirmed.
“Our pitch to our colleagues would be, ‘Why wouldn’t you want a human rights report?’” Kaine said. “If Americans are being sent there, you would want a human rights report about the conditions. So, we have high hopes that we’ll be able to get it passed.”