Senator Chris Van Hollen says that Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been moved from El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison to a lower-security detention facility. That’s a good start, but he still deserves due process. The Democratic Senator on Friday detailed his recent meeting with Garcia, saying the Maryland father said he was being “traumatized” by his time at the country’s notorious CECOT prison and has since been moved.
“He said he was not afraid of the other prisoners in his immediate cell but that he was traumatized by being at CECOT and fearful of many of the prisoners in other cell blocks who called out to him and taunted him in various ways,” Van Hollen told reporters at Dulles Airport near Washington, DC, after landing back in the US.
CNN reports:
The US senator said Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national and Maryland resident, told him he had been moved from the maximum-security prison to another detention center nine days ago.
“He’s no longer at CECOT,” Van Hollen said. “He’s at a different prison, which is pretty far outside of San Salvador.” The senator shared that the new facility is in Santa Ana, where “conditions are better,” but did not provide additional details.
Van Hollen also claimed the Trump administration has committed to paying El Salvador $15 million to detain prisoners, including Abrego Garcia. He claimed that $4 million has been “paid out” so far.
The Trump adminstration isn’t paying for this unconstitutional shit show. We, the taxpayers, are. And it’s tax time! Yay us. Even after the administration admitted that Garcia was kidnapped due to an “administrative error,” the Trump regime still refuses to return him to his family. And the White House is making disgusting comments about the illegal abduction. Keep talking, Trump administration. Garcia’s potential future lawsuit will show their remarks, and his counsel will display them as Exhibit A.