Maryland Democrats Denied Access to Deported Illegal Immigrants in El Salvador

A Maryland congressman has returned to the U.S. from El Salvador for his attempts to fail with the deported illegal immigrants and suspects MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Rep. Glenn Ivey said he was “in trouble” to examine Abrego Garcia’s welfare. Abrego Garcia’s deportation in March has become a deep polarization issue for Republicans and Democrats. The Trump administration accused Abrego Garcia of being a human trafficker and wife assaulter, while Democrats say he was “a Maryland man” who had not received due process in court before being deported.

“I was very, not only disappointed, but also angry,” Ivey told reporters after returning Tuesday morning.

When dark pictures of Abrego Garcia appear

Ivy said he did not use taxpayer money to fund his trip, saying he had arranged with the embassy in the United States and El Salvador to meet with Abreg Garcia in prison, but encountered bureaucratic obstacles when he got there. Ivy said he was told he had to get a permit at a location 90 minutes away, which prevented his plan.

“I won’t tell you what I said, but I mean it’s ridiculous that international delegations will be treated like this, especially when we make this request,” Ivey said.

Watch: Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey Fumes will not allow him to enter Kilmar Abrego Garcia

He did not say whether he tried to get a permit, but added that locals also told them (not even families) that they were detained without a permit to visit loved ones.

“It’s an obvious rush, and it’s not the way foreign governments should treat the U.S. Congress,” he said.

Ivey said he wanted to see Abrego Garcia confirm the detainee’s status, location and ensure he has due process in the U.S. court. Several other Democrats, including Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, were eager to meet with Abrego Garcia and condemned what they said was a lack of due process to extend to him.

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen met Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia in San Salvador on April 17, 2025. (Senator Van Hollen’s office is through Getty Images)

White House Photos show straightforward immigrants at a party in deportation by Abreg Garcia

When asked about Abrego Garcia’s condition, Ivey told reporters: “None of those lines have been confirmed. We believe he is, we believe he is in Santa Ana. But they didn’t confirm that yesterday. So it’s a kind of run.”

In a video posted to XX on Monday, Ivy wrote that he traveled to Central American countries to visit his “formula” and called on the government there to “cut nonsense.”

Abrego Garcia was sent to El Salvador’s notorious high security prison in March with members of violent gangs known as Cecot, which triggered a surge in Democrats led by Van Hollen. The Trump administration has repeatedly cited court and police documents to show that the El Salvador man is not only illegal in the United States, but also associated with the MS-13 gang, and his wife alerted the police about his violence.

Court records show that Abrego Garcia’s wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura filed a protective order against her husband in August 2020. The order said their shared son and stepchildren needed to protect Abrego Garcia, accusing him of verbal and physical abuse of her children and targeting her children.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura spoke with Rep. Glenn Ivey outside the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland on May 16, 2025. (Michael A.

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Some Democrats and left-wing media have described Abrego Garcia as a “family man” who was wrongly deported in March and the weeks ahead.

Meanwhile, Ivey also said that more than 250 Venezuelans were sentenced to jail after being deported in the United States, claiming that about 50 of them had no criminal records and were sent to a country with no outstanding crimes.

“That’s not Americans. That’s not what we should do,” Ivy said.

Emma Colton of Fox News contributed to the report.