Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen has met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who Trump administration officials have acknowledged was deported in error from Maryland to a mega-prison in El Salvador.
Senator Van Hollen posted photos of his meeting with García, whom the administration has refused to return to the US despite an order from a federal judge.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele also refused to release Mr Ábrego García and said he would remain in the country’s custody.
Recall the White House accused Mr Ábrego García of being a member of the transnational Salvadoran gang MS-13, a designated foreign terrorist organisation, his lawyer deny he has any gang affiliation and maintain he has never been charged with, nor convicted of any crime.
“I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance,” the Democratic senator posted on social media.
“I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.”
The White House called the visit “disgusting”.
White House spokesman Kush Desai said: “Chris Van Hollen has firmly established Democrats as the party whose top priority is the welfare of an illegal alien MS-13 terrorist.
“It is truly disgusting. President Trump will continue to stand on the side of law-abiding Americans.”
The senator reported that he was stopped by armed guards on his way to Cecot, the maximum-security prison where Mr Ábrego García has been detained.
Van Hollen arrived in the country on Wednesday hoping to secure the release of Mr Ábrego García, who had been living in Maryland.
Mr Ábrego García’s wife celebrated the news and said her “prayers have been answered”.
“The efforts of my family and community in fighting for justice are being heard, because I now know that my husband is alive,” Jennifer Vasquez Sura said. “God is listening, and the community is standing strong.”
She said her family still has many questions and will continue fighting for his release.
During his trip, Van Hollen said he also met with the country’s vice-president and asked that they open the doors so Mr Ábrego García could leave the prison, a request he says was rejected.
On X, El Salvador’s president reposted photos of the senator meeting Mr Ábrego García and appeared to poke fun at social media speculation that the inmate had died in custody.
President Bukele commented that Mr Ábrego García had “miraculously risen from the ‘death camps’ & ‘torture'” in the “tropical paradise of El Salvador”.
“Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody,” the president added.
Mr Ábrego García was living in Maryland, before he was deported on 15 March with scores of Salvadorans and Venezuelans to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (Cecot) in El Salvador.
Maryland Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Mr Ábrego García’s removal from the country breached a 2019 court order that had granted him legal protection from deportation.
The US Supreme Court last week partially upheld the lower court ruling, finding that the Trump administration must “facilitate” Mr Ábrego García’s release.
The administration was ordered to give daily updates on these efforts.
Trump administration officials have conceded the deportation was an “administrative error”, although the White House insists there was no mistake.