Dateline:   WhatIsHeThinkingVille, April 20, 2025

Senator Van Hollen’s motive in meeting in El Salvador with illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego-Garcia is a mystery. The Senator, D-Md., claimed to be on a taxpayer funded humanitarian mission to return Abrego-Garia to the U.S.

Ordered deported by two immigration courts, the illegal was returned prematurely to his native country by an administrative error. Courts have ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego-Garcia’s return to the U.S. However, El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, will not hand over the alleged human trafficker.

Van Hollen returned to the U.S. empty-handed on Friday. He did meet in an outdoor café with Abrego-Garcia, who was briefly imprisoned upon his arrival home. Photos of the meeting, including those displayed by Van Hollen, show refreshments on their table. However, Van Hollen denies partaking in them. Apparently, enjoying refreshments with the illegal was a bridge too far for the Senator.

While working to return an illegal gang member, Van Hollen has never spoken to, let alone met with, Patty Morin. Morin is the mother of slain Maryland resident Rachel Morin who was beaten, raped and killed by an El Salvadoran illegal in 2023.

Neither has the Senator spoken against Biden’s unlawful immigration policy that permitted millions of unvetted illegals into the Country. He is silent about the deaths of U.S. citizens from fentanyl and the tsunami of crime Biden released into the Country.

But Van Hollen is passionate about illegals who should never have been permitted across our border. Without doubt, Abrego-Garcia’s deportation was ill-timed. But mistakes will be made due to the sheer volume of illegals who must be processed before they can be returned home.

Whatever Van Hollen is thinking, it’s the wrong thought. He acts like a standard-bearer for lawlessness rather than a protector of American values. As a U.S. Senator, he is choosing the wrong hill to die on.