Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said Wednesday during his trip to El Salvador that he «won’t rest» until Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a suspected MS-13 member who was deported to a mega prison in his home country, is brought back to the United States.

Van Hollen has described the man as «wrongfully abducted» and traveled to El Salvador in an attempt to discuss efforts to bring the man back to Maryland, where he was living illegally. 

The senator was able to speak with Vice President Félix Augusto Antonio Ulloa Garay, but was not able to make contact with Abrego Garcia in person or via phone.

«I’ve been in El Salvador all day fighting for the return of Mr. Abrego Garcia,» Van Hollen said in a caption to a video posted on X on Wednesday night. «The Trump Admin can lie all they want, but the Court said they failed to show he was part of MS-13. This is about bringing home a man they ADMIT should’ve never been abducted. I won’t rest until then.»

BLUE STATE SENATOR FLIES TO EL SALVADOR TO VISIT DEPORTED MIGRANT IN PRISON, ONLY TO BE DENIED 

Van Hollen’s visit to El Salvador comes two days after an El Salvadoran illegal alien was convicted of raping and murdering Rachel Morin, a Maryland mom of five, on a trail in Bel Air.

Morin’s mother, Patty, said Van Hollen has never reached out to her about her daughter’s violent murder in Maryland, yet he is prioritizing bringing a deported man back to the state.

Van Hollen did release the following statement on his official Senate website shortly after Morin’s killer was convicted, writing that the «verdict brings a measure of justice that [Rachel’s family] so deserve[s].»

Patty Morin (left) said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., has barely acknowledged the murder of her daughter Rachel Morin (right). (Dillon Mullan/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images | Fox News / Hannity)

«While the conviction of Rachel Morin’s killer will not return Rachel to her family where she rightfully belongs, this verdict brings a measure of justice that they so deserve. I’m grateful to the law enforcement officers who brought her killer into custody and for our legal process for delivering this justice. 

«As I have said in the past, the American people deserve meaningful action to reform our broken immigration system, improve public safety, and strengthen our border security. We can do this while also supporting our immigrant communities and respecting the rights of individuals who are here legally – I am committed to doing both, and I will continue pressing my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to move forward on this issue.»

TOM HOMAN ‘DISGUSTED’ BY DEM SENATOR’S TRIP TO BRING HOME ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER

During an appearance at a White House press briefing on Wednesday, Patty Morin called out Van Hollen for his visit to El Salvador.

«And to have a senator from Maryland who didn’t even acknowledge or barely acknowledge my daughter, and the brutal death that she endured, leaving her five children without a mother and now a grand baby without a grandmother, so that he can use my taxpayer money to fly to El Salvador to bring back someone that’s not even an American citizen,» she said. «Why does that person have more rights than I do for my daughter? For my grandchildren?»

While he did not address Patty Morin directly, Van Hollen said in a video posted to X later Wednesday evening that he cares «about every victim of crime.»

He also said that America has a court system to make sure criminals are held accountable and «that people who have not committed crimes, or not been convicted of crimes, are not disappeared out of the United States and sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador, like Abrego Garcia.»

«This is simply about letting him have his day in court. We use the courts to make sure that we don’t convict people who are not guilty, and that we convict those who are,» he said, in part.

‘MARYLAND MAN’ KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA EXPOSED IN POLICE RECORDS AS ‘VIOLENT’ REPEAT WIFE BEATER

Abrego Garcia is at the center of a controversial debate after he was deported to El Salvador’s «Terrorism Confinement Center» (CECOT) for his alleged gang affiliation, which his attorneys have denied. 

The Department of Homeland Security shared an interview sheet with Fox News from Prince George’s County police’s Gang Unit MS-13 Intelligence Squad that identified Abrego Garcia as an active member of MS-13’s «Westerns» clique in 2019, according to a «past proven and reliable source.» The source said he held the rank of «Chequeo» and the moniker of «Chele.»

He was marked eligible for deportation in 2019 after he claimed that he illegally entered the U.S. near McAllen, Texas, on or about March 25, 2012, after he «walked across the desert for many days,» according to a 2019 DHS interview document shared with Fox News.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador’s «Terrorism Confinement Center» (CECOT) for his alleged affiliation with the MS-13 gang. He was marked eligible for deportation in 2019. (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland via AP)

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Van Hollen is not the only Democrat lawmaker seeking to visit Abrego Garcia in El Salvador with the goal of bringing him back to the U.S. after the Supreme Court last week upheld a lower court’s decision ordering his return. 

The court required the «government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.» 

The Trump administration agreed to clear any administrative obstacles keeping Abrego Garcia from returning to the U.S., but Attorney General Pam Bondi has said that returning him is «up to El Salvador. If they want to return him. That’s not up to us.»

Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo, Greg Wehner and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

En el marco de la Semana Santa, el historiador y antropólogo Ariel Horovitz, director del Moriah International Center, viajó hasta Jerusalén para responder a las principales dudas de los fieles y llevar respuestas sobre los últimos días y la muerte de Jesús.

Desde los restos del palacio Herodes, el experto se refirió al juicio al que Cristo fue sometido antes de la Pascua, así como a las diversas teorías que rondan sobre el sitio en el que fue enterrado, destacando, sin embargo, que la del Santo Sepulcro es la más respaldada por la Iglesia.

Desde el momento de su crucifixión, creyentes y no creyentes de todo el mundo han intentado definir cómo fueron los últimos días del Señor.

Horovitz explicó que Jesús fue juzgado por ser un “sedicioso en contra de Roma, haciéndose llamar el ‘Rey de los Judíos’”, y, desde allí, fue conducido por soldados romanos y una multitud que lo hostigaba.

Incluso, se cree que este acto fue una forma de amedrentamiento para “todos aquellos que osen rebelarse contra Roma”.

Tras ese largo camino, conocido como la “Vía Dolorosa”, Jesús fue crucificado, un proceso “muy largo, de agonía”, hasta su muerte, el viernes.

Siguiendo la ley judía, el cuerpo fue bajado de la cruz, limpiado y envuelto en un sudario -el sudario de Turín– para finalmente ser sepultado.

Aquí es, sin embargo, donde comienzan a surgir diversas teorías dentro de la Iglesia.

“Hay una discusión principalmente entre los protestantes y el resto del mundo cristiano”, comenzó explicando el experto, antes de mencionar que existen cerca de cinco ideas distintas.

“El resto del mundo cristiano considera este lugar que estamos viendo aquí, el Santo Sepulcro (en los restos del palacio Herodes), es el lugar de los hechos… el lugar de la crucifixión, la sepultura y la resurrección” mientras que “los protestantes consideran que el lugar es en el jardín de la tumba, que está 500-600 metros de aquí, un lugar que fue descubierto en el siglo XIX”, mencionó, aunque destacó que esta segunda teoría responde -a su entender- a una “ideología anticatólica”.

Asimismo, señaló que otros grupos consideran lugares probables el Monte de los Olivos, Beni o el valle de Hinom, si bien se trata de “conjeturas que no tienen ningún tipo de valor” ya que allí “no nos encontró nada”.

No obstante, destacó un último espacio que, a diferencia de los anteriores, sí presentó características que han sido objeto de análisis: la famosa tumba de Talpiot.

Talpiot es un barrio en el sur de Jerusalén en el que, en los años 80, se descubrieron diez osarios, de los cuales seis tenían inscripciones con nombres entre los que aparecen Yeshu Yeshua bar Yosef, es decir, Jesús hijo de José, y otro en el que se sobreentiende que menciona que “aquí están los huesos de Santiago, el hermano de Jesús-”.

Allí también se encontró una tumba con el nombre María y otra con el nombre José, lo que comenzó a levantar sospechas de que podría tratarse de más que solo una mera casualidad.

Sin embargo, Horovitz explicó que “con el tiempo, los especialistas llegaron a la conclusión que esa no era la tumba de Jesús, ya que los nombres Yeshua, Yosef, Miriam o María eran nombres súper populares en la época”, a la par que “se encontraron otros osarios con el nombre de Jesús”.

Inclusive, destacó que el historiador judío-romano Flavio Josefo hizo mención a por lo menos 21 Jesuses, lo que da cuenta de la popularidad del nombre en aquel momento.

“Fue apenas una curiosidad que llamó la atención (…) los nombres son correctos, están ahí, incluso el osario que dice Santiago, hermano de Jesús”, comentó, en un intento por desestimar las acusaciones de fraude surgidas en ciertos sectores.

No obstaste, señaló que “lo cierto es que, si descartamos todas estas cuestiones, nos quedamos con dos candidatos: el Santo Sepulcro y el jardín de la tumba”.

Sobre lo primero, el experto explicó que “lo único que llama la atención ahí es una piedra en una colina que, si uno la mira con un poco de imaginación, se ve ahí una calavera, o Gólgota en arameo”.

Es por ello que, entonces, cuando los evangelios mencionan el Gólgota, probablemente se referían a un lugar que tenía imagen de calavera.

El problema con esto, sin embargo, es que con el correr de los siglos la superficie ha sufrido una erosión difícil de estimar, por lo que “no sabemos cómo estaba realmente hace 2000 años”.

De todas formas, más allá de esta cuestión, hay otro aspecto fundamental que descarta por completo esta idea: la tumba que se adjudica a Jesús es una tumba del siglo siete o siglo ocho antes de Cristo y los evangelios dicen claramente que la tumba de Jesús era nueva, por lo que nunca se podría haber utilizado.

Así las cosas, el experto insistió en que “lo más probable es que (la muerte de Cristo) haya sido aquí y en menor medida, en el jardín de la tumba”.

Para justificar sus palabras, Horovitz se basó en una serie de argumentos históricos que sugieren, casi con total certeza, que el Santo Sepulcro fue donde Jesús pasó sus últimos momentos.

En primer lugar, en aquellos tiempos, el sitio estaba fuera de la ciudad, tal como se establecía entonces. Asimismo, sostuvo que hay “un obispo que menciona o da a entender” que en el sitio “sobresalía una piedra en la que -dice- está la tumba de Cristo”.

Por otro lado, en referencia al templo romano, mencionó que, con el correr de los años, se han encontrado diversos indicios y “tradiciones que la tumba de Jesús estaba aquí”.

“¿Es categórico que el Santo Sepulcro, la tumba de Jesús, sea aquí? No. ¿Es probable? Sí, es muy probable, por todos los argumentos que mencione”, cerró con confianza.

A now-deported illegal alien accused of being an MS-13 gang member that was living illegally in Maryland has a record of being a «violent» repeat wife beater, according to court records filed in a Prince George’s County, Maryland, district court by his wife.

Fox News obtained the written domestic violence allegations filed in court against 29-year-old Kilmar Abrego Garcia by his wife, Jennifer Vasquez, in 2021.

In the filing, written in Vasquez’s own handwriting, she alleges Abrego Garcia repeatedly beat her, writing: «At this point, I am afraid to be close to him. I have multiple photos/videos of how violent he can be and all the bruises he [has] left me.»

Vasquez alleged that Abrego Garcia punched and scratched her on her eye, leaving her bleeding. He also allegedly threw her laptop on the floor.

WE DON’T WANT KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA BACK, SAYS AG PAM BONDI 

She wrote that on another day, Abrego Garcia got angry again, started yelling, and ripped her shirt and shorts off before grabbing her arm and leaving marks.

Vasquez recalled two times in 2020 that Abrego Garcia hit her.

«In November 2020, he hit me with his work boot,» she wrote. «In August 2020, he hit me in the eye leaving a purple eye.»

Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released court documents regarding Abrego Garcia, which cast further doubt on the Democrats’ narrative about his innocence.

DHS released new documents this week, which it says definitively proves Abrego Garcia, who was deported to the El Salvadoran mega prison «Terrorism Confinement Center» (CECOT) last month, is a member of the notorious MS-13 gang.

According to a Prince George’s County Police Department interview sheet shared with Fox News by DHS, local police discovered Abrego Garcia during a murder investigation. Police found him loitering in a Home Depot parking lot with other known MS-13 gang members in possession of illicit drugs in 2019.

LIBERAL SENATOR SAYS HE IS FLYING TO VISIT DEPORTED MIGRANT IN PRISON, OTHER DEMS PLANNING TRIPS

Justice Department attorneys on Friday said they are unaware of Maryland immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s whereabouts after he was deported to a Salvadoran prison last month. (Fox News)

The police department’s Gang Unit MS-13 Intelligence Squad conducted an interview with Abrego Garcia and contacted a «past proven and reliable source» who identified him as an active member of MS-13 with the «Westerns» clique, with the rank of «Chequeo» and the moniker of «Chele.»

The news comes as Democrats clamor for the return of Abrego Garcia, who they say was «wrongly deported» to a maximum-security prison in his home country as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on illegal migrant crime. 

Last week, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision ordering the Trump administration to arrange Abrego Garcia’s return. The court required the «government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.» 

The Trump administration agreed to clear any administrative obstacles keeping Abrego Garcia from returning to the U.S., but Attorney General Pam Bondi has said that returning him is «up to El Salvador. If they want to return him. That’s not up to us.» 

KRISTI NOEM CRITICIZES ‘LIBERAL LEFT’ FOR TURNING ACCUSED GANG MEMBER INTO ‘MEDIA DARLING’

In this undated photo provided by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, a man identified by Jennifer Vasquez Sura as her husband, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is led by force by guards through the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland via AP)

This has caused outrage among Democrats, many of whom have begun referring to him as a «Maryland man» who was wrongly deported. Some have even suggested he was kidnapped by the Trump administration.

«Kilmar Abrego Garcia was wrongly deported to El Salvador as part of the Trump Administration’s government-funded kidnapping rampage,» Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., posted on X. «He is rotting away in a foreign prison where his life is in danger. We need to go there now to make sure he’s okay.»

On Wednesday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., flew to El Salvador to visit Abrego Garcia in prison and work to secure his release. His trip has been criticized by many, including the mother of Rachel Morrin, a 39-year-old Maryland mother who was raped and murdered by a Salvadoran illegal immigrant in 2023. 

«To have a senator from Maryland who didn’t even acknowledge, or barely acknowledge, my daughter and the brutal death that she endured, leaving her five children without a mother and now a grandbaby without a grandmother so that he can use my taxpayer money to fly to El Salvador to bring back someone that’s not even an American citizen. Why does that person have more rights than I do, or my daughter, or my grandchildren? I don’t understand this,» she said. 

BONDI DEFIANT, SAYS ABREGO GARCIA WILL STAY IN EL SALVADOR ‘END OF THE STORY’

According to a Prince George’s County, Maryland, Police Department interview sheet shared with Fox News by DHS, police discovered Abrego Garcia during a murder investigation. Police found him loitering in a Home Depot parking lot with other known MS-13 gang members in possession of illicit drugs in 2019.  (Prince George’s County Police Department)

On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security doubled down, saying Abrego Garcia has a «history of violence and was not the upstanding ‘Maryland Man’ the media has portrayed him as.»

DHS shared court filings in which Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez, sought a domestic violence restraining order against him, claiming he «punched, scratched, and ripped off her shirt.»

And a 2019 DHS interview document shared with Fox News shows Abrego Garcia admitted to being in the U.S. illegally and claimed to have «walked across the desert for many days entering illegally into the United States near McAllen, Texas on or about March 25, 2012.» 

As a result, Abrego Garcia was marked as eligible for deportation in 2019. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

Through it all, the Trump administration continues to maintain it was right to deport Abrego Garcia to CECOT.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem tours the Terrorist Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)

A federal immigration court in Baltimore further determined Abrego Garcia was not eligible for release because he «failed to meet his burden of demonstrating that his release from custody would not pose a danger to others, as the evidence shows that he is a verified member of MS-13.»

The court held that «the fact that a ‘past, proven, and reliable source of infonnation [sic]’ verified the Respondent’s gang membership, rank, and gang name is sufficient to support that the Respondent is a gang member» and that Abrego had «failed to present evidence to rebut that assertion.»

«Kilmar Abrego Garcia is not a ‘Maryland Man’—he is an MS-13 gang member involved in human trafficking who entered the United States illegally,» DHS posted on X. «His deportation to El Salvador was always going to be the end result.»

DHS bashed Van Hollen for advocating Abrego Garcia’s release, saying the senator «has done more to bring a MS-13 gang member, human trafficker and illegal alien back to Maryland than he has to help keep his American constituents safe or advocate for the victims of these vicious gangs like MS-13.»

«While Sen. Van Hollen and the mainstream media peddle a sob story about a brutal MS-13 gang member, Secretary Noem stands with the victims of illegal alien crime,» said DHS. «We hear far too much about the gang members and criminals’ sob stories and not enough about their victims.»

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin posted some more details about his arrest, saying, in addition to being apprehended with other MS-13 members, he was found with «rolls of cash and drugs» and «wearing what is effectively MS-13’s uniform.»

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Speaking with Fox News on Monday, McLaughlin said Abrego Garcia is «exactly where he belongs, home in El Salvador.»

«The media would love for you to believe that this is some media darling, that he is just some Maryland father, but Osama bin Laden was also a father, and yet he wasn’t a good guy, and they are actually both terrorists,» she added. «He should be in this El Salvador prison, prison for terrorists, and I hope he will remain there.»