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Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) declared Sunday that the United States is in the midst of a constitutional crisis, accusing President Donald Trump and his administration of willfully defying court orders in the controversial deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
“Yes, we are [in a constitutional crisis],” Van Hollen said on NBC’s Meet the Press, pointing to the Trump administration’s continued refusal to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return, despite rulings from both the Supreme Court and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“The Trump administration is very much flouting the courts as we speak,” Van Hollen said, warning that the implications of the case go far beyond a single individual. “This is not about one man. If you deny the constitutional rights of one man, you threaten the constitutional rights for everybody.”
Abrego Garcia, a legal U.S. resident, was deported last month. The government has repeatedly claimed he is a member of the MS-13 gang, though no criminal convictions are on record. Courts have since sided with Abrego Garcia’s legal team, demanding the administration work with El Salvador to secure his release and return.
In a rare rebuke, the 4th Circuit condemned the administration’s actions, saying it sought “a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process.”
The Supreme Court also issued an unsigned order demanding the government “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release and return to U.S. soil.
Van Hollen, who met with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, said he urged Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to release him, highlighting a statement by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who said the U.S. would provide a plane if El Salvador allowed his release. “Just open the prison, let him walk out,” Van Hollen told Bukele.
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) echoed Van Hollen’s sentiments, accusing the administration of contempt and manipulating the case for political gain. “They’re doing it because they want to distract people from the fact that our economy is in a tailspin,” she said on CNN.
Republicans offered a more measured response. Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) acknowledged the deportation was a “screw-up” but denied the U.S. was in a constitutional crisis. “I don’t believe that President Trump will defy a federal judge’s order,” Kennedy said. “If he does, I’ll call him out on it.”
Former immigration chief Tom Homan, speaking on ABC’s This Week, defended the administration, stating, “We have followed the Constitution. We have followed law.”
Van Hollen warned of consequences if the administration refuses to act. He floated the idea of blocking funds the Trump administration uses to pay El Salvador for housing detainees like Abrego Garcia. “I don’t think American taxpayers are going to want to spend one penny going to El Salvador to continue to hold somebody illegally and in violation of the United States Constitution,” he said.
Meanwhile, Trump doubled down on his messaging in a combative Easter post on Truth Social, referring to critics as “Radical Left Lunatics” and attacking “ineffective judges” aiding in what he called “a sinister attack on our Nation.”
With both court orders and public pressure mounting, the Abrego Garcia case is emerging as a flashpoint in the broader debate over immigration, executive power, and adherence to the Constitution.
