Maryland Sen. Van Hollen meets with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador amid court fight over US return

SAN SALVADOR (AP) — Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Thursday evening in El Salvador, coming face to face with the wrongly deported man after two days in the country pushing for his release.

The Democratic senator posted a photo of the meeting on X but did not provide an update on the status of Abrego Garcia, whose attorneys are fighting to force the Trump administration to facilitate his return to the U.S.

A Salvadoran citizen who was living in Maryland, Abrego Garcia was sent to El Salvador by the Trump administration in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation. U.S. President Donald Trump and Bukele said this week that they have no basis to return him to the United States, even as the Trump administration has called his deportation a mistake and the U.S. Supreme Court has called on the administration to facilitate his return.

“I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar,” Van Hollen wrote on X, with a photo of the two men talking in what appeared to be a restaurant. “Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.”

It’s not clear how the meeting was arranged, where they met or what will happen to Abrego Garcia. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele posted images of the meeting minutes before Van Hollen shared his post, saying, “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody.” The tweet ended with emojis of the U.S. and El Salvador flags, with a handshake emoji between them.

Abrego Garcia's wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, said in a statement released by an advocacy group that “we still have so many questions, hopes, and fears.”

Van Hollen’s trip has become a partisan flashpoint in the U.S. as Democrats have seized on Abrego Garcia’s deportation as what they say is a cruel consequence of Trump’s disregard for the courts. A federal appeals court said Thursday in a blistering order that the Trump administration’s claim that it can’t do anything to free Abrego Garcia from an El Salvador prison and return him to the U.S. “ should be shocking. "

Republicans have criticized Democrats for defending the prisoner and argued that his deportation is part of a larger effort to reduce crime. White House officials have said that Abrego Garcia has ties to the MS-13 gang, but his attorneys say the government has provided no evidence of that and Abrego Garcia has never been charged with any crime related to such activity.

More Democrats have said they will travel to El Salvador to argue for Abrego Garcia's release, but it's unclear if the trips, or Van Hollen's meeting, will have any effect on his status. When asked by reporters Thursday afternoon if he believed Abrego Garcia was entitled to due process, President Donald Trump ducked the question.

“I have to refer, again, to the lawyers,” he said in the Oval Office. “I have to do what they ask me to do.”

A spokeswoman for El Salvador’s presidency said she had no further information on the meeting or Abrego Garcia,

Van Hollen's meeting came hours after he said he was denied entry into the high-security Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, where Abrego Garcia is being held. The Democratic senator said at a news conference in San Salvador on Thursday afternoon, before his meeting, that his car was stopped by soldiers at a checkpoint about 3 kilometers (about 2 miles) from the prison even as they let other cars go on.

“They stopped us because they are under orders not to allow us to proceed," Van Hollen said.

While Van Hollen was denied entry, several House Republicans have visited the notorious gang prison in support of the Trump administration's efforts. Rep. Riley Moore, a West Virginia Republican, posted Tuesday evening that he’d visited the prison where Abrego Garcia is being held. He did not mention Abrego Garcia but said the facility “houses the country’s most brutal criminals.”

“I leave now even more determined to support President Trump’s efforts to secure our homeland,” Moore wrote on social media.

Missouri Republican Rep. Jason Smith, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, also visited the prison. He posted on X that “thanks to President Trump" the facility “now includes illegal immigrants who broke into our country and committed violent acts against Americans.”

Van Hollen first arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday morning and met shortly afterward with Salvadoran Vice President Félix Ulloa, who told him that his government could not return Abrego Garcia to the United States.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials acknowledged in a court filing earlier this month that his deportation was an “ administrative error.” The government’s acknowledgment sparked immediate uproar from immigration advocates, but White House officials have dug in on the allegation that he’s a gang member and will not be returned to the United States.

The fight has also played out in contentious court filings, with repeated refusals from the government to tell a judge what it plans to do, if anything, to repatriate him. The three-judge panel from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously refused Thursday to suspend the judge’s decision to order sworn testimony by Trump administration officials and said the judiciary will be hurt by the “constant intimations of its illegitimacy” while the executive branch “will lose much from a public perception of its lawlessness.”

Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, who was nominated by Republican President Ronald Reagan, wrote that he and his two colleagues “cling to the hope that it is not naïve to believe our good brethren in the Executive Branch perceive the rule of law as vital to the American ethos.”

Since March, El Salvador has accepted from the U.S. more than 200 Venezuelan immigrants — whom Trump administration officials have accused of gang activity and violent crimes — and placed them inside the country’s maximum-security gang prison just outside San Salvador. That prison is part of Bukele’s broader effort to crack down on the country’s powerful street gangs, which has put 84,000 people behind bars and made Bukele extremely popular at home.

Human rights groups have accused Bukele's government of subjecting those jailed to “systematic use of torture and other mistreatment." Officials there deny wrongdoing.

Jalonick reported from Washington.

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, right, speaks with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who was living in Maryland and deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, in a hotel restaurant in San Salvador, El Salvador, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Press Office Senator Van Hollen, via AP)

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen speaks to the press in San Salvador, El Salvador, where he arrived regarding Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who was living in Maryland and deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen speaks to the press in San Salvador, El Salvador, where he arrived regarding Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who was living in Maryland and deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)

FILE - In this photo provided by El Salvador's presidential press office, a prison guard transfers deportees from the U.S., alleged to be Venezuelan gang members, to the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 16, 2025. (El Salvador presidential press office via AP, File)

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen speaks to the press in La Libertad, El Salvador, where he arrived regarding Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who was living in Maryland and deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen speaks to the press in La Libertad, El Salvador, where he arrived regarding Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who was living in Maryland and deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen speaks to the press in La Libertad, El Salvador, where he arrived regarding Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who was living in Maryland and deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)

FILE - Sen. Chris Van Hollen D-Md., speaks Oct. 29, 2024, at the Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr., File)

FILE - Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, speaks during a news conference at CASA's Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)

WASHINGTON (AP) — American employers added a surprising 177,000 jobs in April as the job market showed resilience in the face of President Donald Trump's trade wars.

Hiring fell slightly from a revised 185,000 in March, but that is above economist projections of 135,000 jobs. The unemployment rate remained at a low 4.2%, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Trump’s aggressive and unpredictable policies – including massive import taxes – have clouded the outlook for the economy and the job market and raised fears that the American economy is headed toward recession.

Friday's report showed employment, one of the strongest aspects of the U.S. economy, remains solid, yet many economists anticipate that a negative impact from trade wars will materialize this year for American workers and potentially, President Trump.

“Politicians can count their lucky stars that companies are holding on to their workers despite the storm clouds forming that could slow the economy further in the second half of the year," said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at fwdbonds, a financial markets research firm.

Transportation and warehousing companies added 29,000 jobs last month, suggesting companies have built up inventory before imported goods are hit with new tariffs. Healthcare companies added nearly 51,000 jobs and bars, restaurants almost 17,000 and construction firms 11,000. Factories lost 1,000 jobs.

Labor Department revisions shaved 58,000 jobs from February and March payrolls.

Average hourly earnings ticked up 0.2% from March and 3.8% from a year ago, nearing the 3.5% that economists view as consistent with the 2% inflation the Federal Reserve wants to see.

Trump’s massive taxes on imports to the U.S. are likely to raise costs for Americans and American businesses that depend on supplies from overseas. They also threaten to slow economic growth. His immigration crackdown threatens to make it more difficult for hotels, restaurants and construction firms to fill job openings. By purging federal workers and cancelling federal contracts, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency risks wiping out jobs inside the government and out.

The drastic changes have shaken markets and consumers. The Conference Board, a business group, reported Tuesday that Americans’ confidence in the economy fell for the fifth straight month to the lowest level since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank, called the jobs report “reassuringly normal. The fears of a softer labor market due to tariff uncertainty went unrealized last month ... There are signs that businesses are reining in plans for hiring and capital spending and that consumers are turning more cautious toward discretionary spending.’’

American workers have at least one thing going for them. Despite the uncertainty about fallout from Trump’s policies, many employers don’t want to risk letting employees go – not after struggling to bring people back from the massive but short-lived layoffs from the pandemic.

“For now, the unemployment rate and the number of people filing claims for jobless benefits every week remain low by historical standards,” Boston College economist Brian Bethune said this week.

The federal government’s workforce fell by 9,000 on top of 17,000 job losses in February and March, The full effect of Musk's DOGE cuts may yet to be seen. Bethune noted job cuts by the billionaire’s DOGE are still being challenged in court. Also, some of those leaving federal agencies were forced into early retirement and don’t count as unemployed.

After the jobs numbers were released, Trump repeated his call for the Federal Reserve to lower its benchmark short-term interest rate, which it raised to combat inflation. Trump said on social media platform Truth Social that there is “NO INFLATION” and “employment strong.”

Yet as long as the job market remains healthy, the Fed will likely stay on the sidelines as it takes time to evaluate the impact of tariffs. Fed chair Jerome Powell has underscored that the duties are likely to push up prices in the coming months, making the central bank wary of the potential for higher inflation.

The Fed typically fights inflation with higher interest rates, so it is unlikely to cut its key short-term rate anytime soon. It may change course if layoffs spike and unemployment rises.

Some U.S. companies stand to benefit from Trump’s protectionist policies.

Allen Jacoby, executive vice president of textile division at Milliken & Co., said that cheap Chinese imports have hurt business at the Spartanburg, South Carolina, manufacturer. His division makes Polartec fabric for brands such as North Face and Patagonia and has closed six plants and reduced its payrolls 12% since 2019.

Trump’s tariffs, he said, could improve Milliken’s sales and hiring. “It’s too early to tell, but there’s more optimism than pessimism,” he said.

Most Americans still enjoy job security, yet many who have lost jobs say that it's now harder to find work.

Jason Schunkewitz, 33, was laid off by a startup that uses virtual reality to train caregivers. Single and debt free, the Denver resident took some time off before beginning the job search in earnest.

He has a background in jobs training and economic development – a field heavily reliant on government grants. Trump spending cuts have eliminated some grants and generated uncertainty about others. Schunkewitz now says many nonprofits have postponed hiring.

“It’s just been silent in some cases,’’ he said. “It’s very tricky to navigate.’’ He's now focusing his job search on private companies, which might be more secure.

Schunkewitz is also developing a business making charcuterie-to-go packs – cured salami, aged cheese, dried fruit – for skiers, hikers and other adventurers. The business is in the early stages, but he said: “I hope it becomes a full-time job.’’

AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber and AP Retail Writer Anne D'Innocenzio contributed to this story.

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