Dem Senator Tells Fox News He’s ‘Not Vouching For the Man’ in Abrego Garcia Case, Will Support a Court Deporting Him

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) sat down with Fox News Sunday host Shannon Bream over the weekend to discuss his recent trip to El Salvador, where he met with wrongly deported and indefinitely imprisoned migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Abrego Garcia’s case has roiled U.S. politics in recent weeks as President Donald Trump’s administration has bucked court orders to help return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. amid alarm that the U.S. deported and jailed migrants in El Salvador without any kind of due process.

As the interview wound down, Bream asked, “Did you ask him if he has any association with MS-13?”

Van Hollen replied, “I didn’t ask him directly because he’s answered that question repeatedly as his lawyers have. My purpose in going there was to number one, see if he was alive, see he was healthy, take his story. As I said, they have litigated this case on MS-13, and it was the judge in the most recent case who says, put up or shut up. So that’s what I say to President Trump and others, put up or shut up.”

The administration has insisted that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13, a gang Trump has labeled a foreign terrorist organization. Defenders of the president have slammed Democrats for championing the rights of an alleged gang member, while critics have accused Trump of running foul of the law by deporting Abrego Garcia to El Salvador despite a previous court order saying he could not be sent there out of fear for his safety.

Bream then questioned, “Hearing these reports from Prince George’s County police and from the immigration judge and the appeals court in the immigration setting, do you worry though that you are sticking your neck out for somebody who maybe down the line is proven to be connected to MS-13?”

Van Hollen replied, “I want to be very clear. I’m not vouching for the man. I’m vouching for the man’s rights, his constitutional rights to due process, and the proper place to litigate that is in the courts. He added:

And the most recent federal district court judge that looked at this, Judge Xinis, said that the administration had presented no evidence of his connection to MS-13 or by the way to any other criminal gang or terrorist activity. So again, all the issues you raised. Why aren’t they presenting those to the courts? So again, put up or shut up in court, which is where we litigate these things.

“Okay, so you know that there’s been a lot of attention on two Maryland women who are angel moms in the sense that no connection to Mr. Garcia at all, but in two separate cases involving people who were in the U.S. and in Maryland illegally, violently raped and killed their daughters. This is Patty Moran, the mother of Rachel Moran. One of your constituents,” Bream followed up before playing a clip from Moran.

“So a lot of questions there. First of all, who did pay for this trip?” she asked.

Van Hollen answered, “This was an officially cleared, you know, congressional trip, cleared on a bipartisan basis. Yes, like every other trip. Like the trip Kristi Noem took with her fashion show before CECOT, like the trip that five Republican members of the House took, like the day before when they went into CECOT, I can tell you, so that’s, yes, it was an official trip.”

“Okay, so your response to her and you understand her frustration and feeling like her daughter was a constituent of yours, met a horrible end, that family didn’t hear from you and understand their frustration and that they see you extending so much time and energy over the Garcia case?” Bream pressed.

Van Hollen responded, “So what happened to the Moran family was awful and unacceptable. I cannot imagine losing a child like they lost Rachel. And I said at the time that my heart goes out to the Moran family. And I’m glad that the killer of Rachel Moran has been convicted in a court of law.” He continued:

That’s how we hold guilty people accountable in a court of law. Courts of law are also where people get their due process rights respected. As you indicated, there is zero connection between the horrible murder of Rachel Moran and the situation with Abrego Garcia.

And I don’t know if the Trump administration seems to be arguing that because of the awful thing that happened to Rachel Moran, that Abrego Garcia’s rights should be neglected.

Bream interjected, “I don’t think that’s the question, I think that’s the mother being unable to understand why you would spend so much time and energy for this person who was not in your state or in the country legally, at which time she felt like you didn’t have the same concern about her daughter and her family.”

Van Hollen insisted, “I did have concern. I have concern, my heart goes out to every Maryland family that is the victim of violence, regardless of the perpetrator. And that is why I am very glad and said so, that a court of law has convicted her killer.”

“That is where we litigate these issues. That is why the Trump administration admitted that they had wrongfully detained and deported Abrego Garcia. My whole point here is if you deprive one man of his constitutional rights, you threaten the constitutional rights of everybody. I would hope that all of us would understand that principle. You’re a lawyer. I’m not vouching for the individual, I’m vouching for his rights under the Constitution,” Van Hollen added.

Bream asked one final question, “So just quickly then, if he is brought back, if the administration finally says, okay, we got a duty, let’s get him back here, and he’s given due process, then they’ll deport him again. You’re okay with that process?”

Van Hollen agreed, “I support the rule of law. That’s exactly my point here. And if you threaten the rule of law for one person, you threaten it for everybody in America.”

Watch the clip above via Fox News.