On Sunday, Trump border czar Tom Homan condemned Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) for making a taxpayer funded trip to El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant who was deported from the United States last month.

Homan redirected a question from ABC’s “This Week” by anchor Jonathan Karl when pressed about Abrego Garcia, who has been imprisoned in El Salvador, his home country. Abrego Garcia’s legal team has been fighting the federal government in a high-profile court to secure his return to the United States. Van Hollen, who claims Abrego Garcia is a Maryland “constituent” who endured an “abduction and unlawful deportation,” met the man on Thursday.

“Sen. Van Hollen is — obviously got a chance to meet with [Abrego Garcia], but he had to travel to El Salvador to get any information. Is (sic) that concern you at all? I mean, these are people sent by — I mean, in his case, sent by the United States, and not even a U.S. senator could get any information about his whereabouts, or the condition of his incarceration, without actually going down and making the trip to El Salvador himself?” Karl asked.

“Well, he obviously knew his whereabouts, because he went there to see him. But you know, what bothers me more than that is a U.S. senator traveled to El Salvador on taxpayer dime to meet with an MS-13 gang member, public safety threat, terrorist. I mean, in the meantime, the day before he traveled, an illegal alien was arrested for murder, was released to the streets rather than honoring an ICE detainer in his very own state,” Homan retorted.

The Trump administration accuses Abrego Garcia of being a member of MS-13, which has been designated as a foreign terror organization, and has released documents and photo evidence to substantiate the affiliation. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys deny the claim.

On CNN, Van Hollen dared the Trump administration to bring up the gang affiliation claim in Abrego Garcia’s ongoing deportation case. The senator also conceded during an interview on “Fox News Sunday” that his trip to El Salvador was funded by taxpayer dollars.

Homan went on to criticize Van Hollen over the border crisis during President Joe Biden’s administration.

“What concerns me is Van Hollen never went to the border the last four years under Joe Biden, when he had a 600% increase in sex trafficking in women and children,” Homan said. “You have a record number of known inspected terrorists crossing that border. You had a quarter of a million Americans die from fentanyl overdose because of the open border. You had over 4,000 illegal aliens died making that journey, which is an historic record. What shocks me is he’s remained silent on the travesty that happened on the southern border. Many people died, thousands of people died. I met with hundreds of Angel moms and dads who buried their children that were murdered by illegal aliens. How many Angel moms and dads has he met in the state of Maryland? That’s what concerns me.”

Last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized Van Hollen and other Democrats who have rallied in support of Abrego Garcia during a press briefing alongside Patty Morin, whose daughter, Rachel, 37, was raped and murdered in Maryland two years ago by another illegal immigrant from El Salvador.

“It’s appalling and sad that Senator Van Hollen and the Democrats applauding his trip to El Salvador today are incapable of having any shred of common sense or empathy for their own constituents and our citizens,” Leavitt said.

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On Sunday, Trump border czar Tom Homan condemned Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) for making a taxpayer funded trip to El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant who was deported from the United States last month.

Homan redirected a question from ABC’s “This Week” by anchor Jonathan Karl when pressed about Abrego Garcia, who has been imprisoned in El Salvador, his home country. Abrego Garcia’s legal team has been fighting the federal government in a high-profile court to secure his return to the United States. Van Hollen, who claims Abrego Garcia is a Maryland “constituent” who endured an “abduction and unlawful deportation,” met the man on Thursday.

“Sen. Van Hollen is — obviously got a chance to meet with [Abrego Garcia], but he had to travel to El Salvador to get any information. Is (sic) that concern you at all? I mean, these are people sent by — I mean, in his case, sent by the United States, and not even a U.S. senator could get any information about his whereabouts, or the condition of his incarceration, without actually going down and making the trip to El Salvador himself?” Karl asked.

“Well, he obviously knew his whereabouts, because he went there to see him. But you know, what bothers me more than that is a U.S. senator traveled to El Salvador on taxpayer dime to meet with an MS-13 gang member, public safety threat, terrorist. I mean, in the meantime, the day before he traveled, an illegal alien was arrested for murder, was released to the streets rather than honoring an ICE detainer in his very own state,” Homan retorted.

The Trump administration accuses Abrego Garcia of being a member of MS-13, which has been designated as a foreign terror organization, and has released documents and photo evidence to substantiate the affiliation. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys deny the claim.

On CNN, Van Hollen dared the Trump administration to bring up the gang affiliation claim in Abrego Garcia’s ongoing deportation case. The senator also conceded during an interview on “Fox News Sunday” that his trip to El Salvador was funded by taxpayer dollars.

Homan went on to criticize Van Hollen over the border crisis during President Joe Biden’s administration.

“What concerns me is Van Hollen never went to the border the last four years under Joe Biden, when he had a 600% increase in sex trafficking in women and children,” Homan said. “You have a record number of known inspected terrorists crossing that border. You had a quarter of a million Americans die from fentanyl overdose because of the open border. You had over 4,000 illegal aliens died making that journey, which is an historic record. What shocks me is he’s remained silent on the travesty that happened on the southern border. Many people died, thousands of people died. I met with hundreds of Angel moms and dads who buried their children that were murdered by illegal aliens. How many Angel moms and dads has he met in the state of Maryland? That’s what concerns me.”

Last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized Van Hollen and other Democrats who have rallied in support of Abrego Garcia during a press briefing alongside Patty Morin, whose daughter, Rachel, 37, was raped and murdered in Maryland two years ago by another illegal immigrant from El Salvador.

“It’s appalling and sad that Senator Van Hollen and the Democrats applauding his trip to El Salvador today are incapable of having any shred of common sense or empathy for their own constituents and our citizens,” Leavitt said.

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