Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s wife said her “prayers have been answered” after Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen met with the Beltsville man on Thursday who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador last month.
Jennifer Vasquez Sura gave a statement about her husband through CASA, an advocacy group for immigrants and other underprivileged communities:
My children and my prayers have been answered. The efforts of my family and community in fighting for justice are being heard, because I now know that my husband is alive. God is listening, and the community is standing strong. We still have so many questions, hopes, and fears. I will continue praying and fighting for Kilmars’ return home. Thank you to everyone, including Senator Van Hollen, my CASA family, all our Union’s, faith leaders and community for continuing this fight for my family to be reunited.
Van Hollen shared a picture on X of his meeting with Abrego Garcia in a San Salvador hotel on Thursday after being denied entry into the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT prison. He traveled to El Salvador this week to push for the release of Abrego Garcia.
I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return. pic.twitter.com/U9y2gZpxCb
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) April 18, 2025
He said that Abrego Garcia has not had any contact with his family or his lawyers, but he was able to pass along a “message of love” to Vasquez Sura.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele made multiple jabs at Abrego Garcia in posts on X, saying that he has “miraculously risen from the ‘death camps’ and ‘torture,’ now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!”
He added to that post on X, saying, “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody.”
Bukele met with President Donald Trump earlier this month and told him he had no intention of releasing Abrego Garcia and allowing his return to the United States. Their meeting came after the Trump administration was ordered by the Supreme Court to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return and admit in court that he was deported by mistake.
Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. illegally in 2011 after fleeing gang violence in El Salvador. He was arrested in 2019 under the accusation that he was a member of the MS-13 gang, but his attorney’s have said there’s no evidence to support that claim.
He was never charged with a crime.
In 2019, a judge granted Abrego Garcia protected status to live in the U.S., with his legal counseling arguing he could face potential violence if he returned to El Salvador.
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