Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and three other senators introduced legislation on Thursday to force the Trump administration to report how it’s complying with court orders related to U.S. citizens or residents wrongfully deported to El Salvador.
The report would require a statement on El Salvador’s human rights practices, ways the United States has promoted human rights in the Central American country and how the administration is protecting U.S. residents from being sent to El Salvador.
The legislation — introduced by Democrats Van Hollen, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine and California Sen. Alex Padilla — would prohibit the Trump administration from sending security assistance to El Salvador if it does not make the report.
This legislation comes after at least two Maryland residents were deported to El Salvador despite court orders protecting them from deportation.
[Trump administration deports another Maryland man in violation of court settlement]
The case of one of the two men — Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia — has received worldwide attention after Trump’s administration admitted he was deported due to an “administrative error.”
“If you trample over his constitutional rights, you threaten them for every American and everybody who resides in America,” Van Hollen said during a Thursday press conference announcing the legislation.
The Trump administration and Salvadoran government have said they do not plan to return Abrego Garcia, who was deported to the country’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center in March, despite court orders that the U.S. government must facilitate his return.
Van Hollen met with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador last month, after the senator spoke to the country’s vice president. After their meeting, Van Hollen said Abrego Garcia has been moved to a different prison in the country.
[Sen. Chris Van Hollen meets with wrongly deported Maryland man in El Salvador]
Within 10 days of filing the legislation, the sponsors can force vote on the resolution on the Senate floor because it is filed under the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act.
“Our pitch to our colleagues will be, ‘Why wouldn’t you want a human rights report?’” Kaine said during the press conference. “If Americans are being sent there, you would want a human rights report about the conditions.”
No Republicans have said they will support the resolution, Kaine confirmed.
The resolution will be filed in the House of Representatives by Texas Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro.