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The Democratic US senator who visited a wrongly deported migrant in El Salvador said Americans should put economic pressure on the country by vacationing in other Central American destinations.
“Vote with your feet,” Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen said at the Semafor World Economy Summit on Wednesday. “Costa Rica is a beautiful place. You don’t have to go to El Salvador.”
Van Hollen met with Kilmar Ábrego García after the Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” his return to Maryland. But neither the White House nor El Salvador have moved to end his detention at a notorious Salvadoran prison.
Van Hollen said the White House is paying El Salvador $15 million to hold deportees like Ábrego — “a fee-for-service deal” — but Democrats can push to “change that equation”: He said he asked Maryland’s state pension funds to reconsider their investments tied to El Salvador.
The lawmaker said Ábrego was “clearly traumatized” by the experience and has been in a news blackout, unaware of the legal rulings surrounding his case. He accused Trump and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele of “lying through their teeth,” saying the courts will have to hold the Trump administration in contempt — and impose sanctions.
“Nobody wants to get there, but apparently Donald Trump, or someone in the White House — maybe it’s [Stephen] Miller — is interested in reaching that point,” Van Hollen said, referring to Trump’s adviser. “In my view, we’re already in the constitutional crisis.”
The White House has accused Ábrego of being a gang member, though he has not been charged with any crime.
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At the summit, Van Hollen also reacted to the news that longtime Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois will not seek re-election next year.
“He’s been a person of principle, standing up for equal justice,” Van Hollen said, adding that Durbin is “standing up for the rule of law now… under terrible circumstances” as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Van Hollen said he has “no idea” who will win the Democratic primary for his replacement, but said it’s likely to remain a Democratic seat.
The Semafor View
The energy transition is changing, not ending. Renewable and fossil-fuel production are at record highs. Clean energy is cheaper than oil drilling, and Big Tech’s appetite for power is growing exponentially. Investments into new fuel sources and green tech are unlikely to wind down any time soon, while countries are increasingly concerned with energy independence.