Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said Sunday that he did not ask Kilmar Abrego Garcia—an illegal immigrant deported from the U.S. and currently imprisoned in El Salvador—whether he is or has ever been a member of MS-13 during their meeting last week.

The Democrat, who contends that Abrego Garcia is a “constituent” of Maryland who was unlawfully deported, told CNN’s Dana Bash he did not ask “because I know what his answer is: what he told me was he was sad and traumatized that he was being in prison because he has committed no crimes, and that goes to the heart of this issue because he’s being denied his due process rights.”

Abrego Garcia was found by two immigration courts to be in the country illegally and a member of the now-terrorist-designated MS-13 gang, which originated in his home country of El Salvador.

BASH: “Can you say with absolute certainty that he is not, nor has he ever been a member of the MS-13 gang, and did you ask him point blank?”

VAN HOLLEN: “What Donald Trump is trying to do here is change the subject. The subject at hand is that he and his administration are… pic.twitter.com/QlXZZANLXf

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) April 20, 2025

A 2019 federal court ordered him deported but not to his home country. His legal team is claiming that the Trump administration illegally deported him back to El Salvador, but the administration says things have changed dramatically since then, namely he’s been identified as a member of a terrorist group.

The Trump administration alleges that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13, a group designated as a foreign terrorist organization, and has released documents to support the claim.

Among the evidence is a 2019 police interview sheet stating that a confidential informant identified Abrego Garcia as a gang member.

President Donald Trump later shared a photo on social media showing himself holding an image labeled “Kilmar Abrego Garcia MS-13 Tattoo.” The close-up depicted a hand with tattoos of a cannabis leaf, smiley face, cross, and skull across four knuckles.

In his post, Trump referenced Abrego Garcia’s 2019 immigration case and a 2021 restraining order, which accused him of assaulting his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura—who now says the couple has since reconciled.