Rep. Glenn Ivey flying to El Salvador for 'wellness check' on Abrego Garcia

Ben Mause, Baltimore Sun on May 22, 2025

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WASHINGTON — Rep. Glenn Ivey will fly to El Salvador this weekend and try to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland resident who was mistakenly deported by the Trump administration.

“The overall goal obviously is to have continued pressure on the Trump administration,” Ivey, a Prince George’s County Democrat, told The Baltimore Sun. “The Supreme Court has already ordered them to facilitate his return. The Fourth Circuit Court already ordered them to bring him back, explicitly.”

“We’re hoping to keep the focus on the fact that he’s still there, and the Trump administration needs to comply with those court orders,” Ivey added.

Ivey hopes to visit with Abrego Garcia, who is being held in a prison in Santa Ana, El Salvador. Garcia was previously held in the maximum security Terrorism Confinement Center. Garcia is one of Ivey’s constituents.

“A wellness check is in order,” Ivey said. “I know the family is interested in that as well.”

Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland’s only Republican in Congress, has criticized Democrats for visiting Abrego Garcia, saying they “shouldn’t be spending taxpayer dollars to go after a citizen of El Salvador to bring him back to the United States.”

A meeting with Abrego Garcia isn’t certain. Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen struggled at first to secure a visit with Abrego Garcia during his trip to the country in April. Van Hollen was eventually allowed to sit down with Abrego Garcia.

El Salvador’s ambassador to the United States, Milena Mayorga, previously told Ivey that she would try to help facilitate a visit. Ivey also expects to meet with the country’s vice president, Felix Ulloa. Ivey described the potential meeting with Ulloa as a follow-up visit. They previously met two years ago.

The United States provides aid to Abrego Garcia’s former prison, known as CECOT, and his current one, according to Ivey. He said he would like to see both facilities.

“We certainly have a right to know as the United States Congress because we have the power of the purse,” Ivey said. “We have oversight authority to make sure the money is being spent wisely, and I definitely want to have a chance to make sure that’s the case.”

Abrego Garcia is not the only deportee Ivey wants his trip to highlight. On Tuesday, the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank based in Washington, D.C., released a report that at least 50 Venezuelans who had come to America were deported to El Salvador without due process.

“It seems like that’s just an entirely illegal deportation effort there, and I’m concerned about that as well,” Ivey said.

Abrego Garcia was deported after a traffic stop in March. A court ruled in 2019 that Abrego Garcia couldn’t be returned to El Salvador because of potentially facing gang violence. The Trump administration has admitted Abrego Garcia’s deportation was a mistake.

Nevertheless, the administration has defended his removal. Earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Abrego Garcia of being a gang member and involved in human trafficking during a congressional hearing. The accusation led to a fiery exchange with Van Hollen. The senator called Rubio’s comments unfounded and unsubstantiated.

Multiple courts have ruled in Abrego Garcia’s favor since his imprisonment in El Salvador.

A Maryland labor union leader and a member of a local nonprofit will join the congressman’s trip. Garcia was a union member. He worked with a sheet metal training group in northern Prince George’s County before his deportation.

Ivey plans to fly back on Monday night.