Van Hollen says Abrego Garcia was traumatized in El Salvador after mistaken deportation

Sen. Chris Van Hollen held a news conference a day after Salvadoran officials agreed to let him meet with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., revealed new details about his meeting this week with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, including that he had been traumatized by his imprisonment in El Salvador.

Van Hollen met with Abrego Garcia — a Maryland man who the Trump administration says was mistakenly deported last month — on Thursday after his previous efforts to meet with him were denied by Salvadoran officials.

The Maryland senator held a news conference at Washington Dulles International Airport on Friday upon his return from El Salvador, where he told reporters that he met with Abrego Garcia for more than 30 minutes and informed him of the national attention on his case, which the senator said Abrego Garcia was unaware of.

“His conversation with me was the first communication he’d had with anybody outside of prison since he was abducted,” Van Hollen said. “He said he felt very sad about being in a prison because he had not committed any crimes.”

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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/sen-chris-van-hollen-kilmar-abrego-garcia-rcna201931

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