Judicial Watch Sues State Dept for Records on Sen. Van Hollen’s Visit to Deported Illegal Alien in El Salvador

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. State Department for all records regarding Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s (D-MD) April visit to El Salvador, where he met with deported illegal alien and accused MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:25-cv-02273)).

Judicial Watch sued after the State Department failed to respond to an April 22, 2025, FOIA request for:

Any and all records concerning, regarding, or relating to the April 2025 visit to El Salvador by Senator Chris Van Hollen. This request includes, but is not limited to, all related agendas, briefing materials, and records of communications.

Van Hollen met with Garcia in El Salvador on April 17. The senator admitted in an April 20 interview with Fox News that his trip to El Salvador was taxpayer funded.

Homeland Security released documents that it says prove the 29-year-old Garcia is a member of the notorious MS-13 gang, which the Trump administration has declared a foreign terrorist organization. García is currently detained in a Tennessee jail, awaiting a judicial decision in his human smuggling trial.

“This lawsuit aims to give Americans more details about Sen. Van Hollen’s infamous trip to El Salvador to give aid and comfort a dangerous illegal alien,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

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