MARYLAND (DC News Now) -- Sen. Van Hollen (D-Md.) has requested a meeting with El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, to discuss the return of a Maryland father mistakenly deported to El Salvador. Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador last month in what the Trump administration ha s since deemed an "administrative error," remains incarcerated in the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). He was deported just days after he was stopped by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on March 12. Upon detaining Abrego Garcia, ICE officers informed him that his immigration status had changed, even though a judge granted him a protected legal status in 2019, explicitly barring his deportation to El Salvador. The order, called "withholding of removal," came after a confidential informant told ICE that Abrego Garcia was an active member of MS-13. However, the judge granted his protected legal status after determining he would be the one to face persecution from gangs if he returned. PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador due to ‘administrative error,’ court filings say Despite acknowledging that the deportation was an error, the Trump administration has continued to refer to Abrego Garcia as an MS-13 gang leader. Abrego Garcia's attorneys maintain that he has no affiliation with the violent gang and came to the U.S. to escape gang violence. Last week, the Supreme Court denied to lift a lower court judge's order requiring the Trump administration to "facilitate" his return, according to a report from NewsNation. The lower court judge also ordered the U.S. government to provide daily updates on his whereabouts and the work being done to return him to the U.S. US Senators from Maryland, Virginia demand return of Maryland man mistakenly deported In a letter dated Sunday, April 13, Hollen wrote to Salvadoran Ambassador Milena Mayorga to request a meeting with Bukele while he is in the U.S. meeting with President Donald Trump. "I write to urgently request a meeting with President Bukele during his current visit to the UnitedStates to discuss the illegal detention of my constituent, Kilmar Abrego Garcia," wrote Van Hollen. The senator continued to say that although officials confirmed Saturday that Abrego Garcia is "alive and secure" in the maximum-security prison, "they did not detail steps thathave been taken to facilitate his return, as mandated by the Supreme Court." "I have met with Mr. Abrego Garcia’s wife, mother and brother and, as you can imagine, they areextremely worried about his health, safety, and continued illegal confinement, as am I," Van Hollen added. He also declared that if Abrego Garcia is not returned within the next few days, he will travel to El Salvador this week to check on him. “Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia never should have been abducted and illegally deported, and the courts have made clear: the Administration must bring him home, now. However, since the Trump Administration appears to be ignoring these court mandates, we need to take additional action," said Van Hollen. "That’s why I’ve requested to meet with President Bukele during his trip to the United States, and – if Kilmar is not home by midweek – I plan to travel to El Salvador this week to check on his condition and discuss his release." The Washington Post reported that during Bukele's Monday meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, Bukele said he had no plans to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. “I smuggle him into the United States? Of course I’m not going to do it," Bukele said, according to the Post. Bukele's comments quickly drew backlash, with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) releasing the following statement: Once again, President Trump is cozying up to an aspiring dictator. The Bukele regime has for many years rounded up tens of thousands of Salvadorans without due process, and indefinitely crammed them into overpopulated megaprisons. Trump is conspiring with President Bukele to do the same with people in the United States, including Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a legal U.S. resident and Maryland father whom the Administration openly admits they deported by mistake, but now refuses to release from a notorious torture prison and return to his American family. The United States should call out Bukele’s contemptuous and anti-democratic behavior rather than celebrate and be complicit in it. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) Following the Salvadoran president's comments, it is unclear if Van Hollen still aspires to meet with him or visit El Salvador regarding the matter. ...read more read less