SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who has been at the center of an intense political and legal fight since he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, is back in the United States. For months, the Trump administration resisted a Supreme Court order to, quote, "facilitate his return." Now Abrego Garcia is back but in a Tennessee prison. He's been charged with conspiracy to transport migrants in the U.S. without legal status from Texas across the country. That's according to the federal indictment unsealed Friday. Senator Chris Van Hollen played a leading role in the push to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S.. The Democrat represents Maryland, where Abrego Garcia was living with his family before he was deported. Senator Van Hollen joins us now.
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN: Scott, good to be with you.
DETROW: What is your reaction to this news? He's been returned to the U.S. but is in federal prison.
VAN HOLLEN: This is a victory for the rule of law and due process. As you just said, the Trump administration for months said he would never set foot on U.S. soil again. They thumbed their nose at a 9 to 0 Supreme Court decision. I have repeatedly said that this is not about the man, Abrego Garcia. It's about his constitutional rights to due process and that if you trample over his rights, you threaten the rights of everybody who lives in the United States. So finally, his case is back in court where it should have been all along, and he will have an opportunity with his lawyers, who he's not had any communication with, to defend himself against these new charges.
DETROW: Have you been able to talk to him or his legal team?
VAN HOLLEN: I have not spoken to him directly. I have spoken to his wife, Jennifer.
DETROW: What was her response to all of this?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, she's relieved to have him back on U.S. soil. She's finally had a chance to talk to him briefly, which she was unable to do since he was first taken off the streets in Maryland and shipped to El Salvador. And, of course, you know, she's working with the lawyers as to the next steps.
DETROW: You said before, this isn't about him. It's about the rule of law. It's about the process. What is your response to this indictment and the details in the indictment, allegations that he transported undocumented immigrants across the country illegally?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, my response is what it's been all along, which is that the Trump administration needs to put up or shut up in court. So for months, they made allegations over social media which they had not made before the federal district court judge in Maryland, Judge Xinis. They'd made these claims. With respect to MS 13, she said that they had put forward no evidence. My point all along is, this needs to be dealt with in a court of law. That's where we convict the guilty. It's also where people who are charged have their due process rights respected.
DETROW: I mean, there has been criticism from some camps about the amount of detail in the 10-page indictment about the fact that most of this material comes from unnamed sources. Do you share that concern? Or again, is to you the top line, this is now the formal process that should have happened from the beginning?
VAN HOLLEN: The top line is that this is the formal process, and it should have been in court from the beginning. I think the issues you just mentioned will, of course, be a subject of debate and, you know, litigation in the court. We also know that one of the members of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tennessee resigned reportedly in protest about how these charges are being brought now. But finally, you know, we're able to, he's able to and his family is able to litigate these in a court of law...
DETROW: Yeah.
VAN HOLLEN: ...Rather than unable to communicate from essentially what is a terrible prison, a notorious prison in El Salvador that he was first taken to.
DETROW: Senator, I want to ask you this. If all of this ends, several steps down the line, with Abrego Garcia guilty in federal court and eventually deported, to you, is that still a win for the rule of law and the Constitution?
VAN HOLLEN: The answer is yes, I will be satisfied so long as the rule of law applies, so long as there's no abuse of process. And, again, the overriding issue here is adherence to the Constitution of the United States. This is not the only case where President Trump and his administration are flouting the Constitution and due process. But my bottom line has been and remains adherence to the Constitution of the United States because if you put it at risk for one person, you do jeopardize those rights for everybody.
DETROW: Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat from Maryland, thanks so much.
VAN HOLLEN: Good to be here. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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