Senator Chris Van Hollen has proven himself to be a single-minded tool over the last few days.

As we all know, because he has made sure EVERYONE knows, the senator from Maryland left to go check on his “constituent,” Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is currently being held in prison in El Salvador. As those who have been following the legal wrangling knows, Abrego Garcia was deported to his native El Salvador due to an “administrative error” that acknowledged that his previous asylum claim had been denied, his deportation order was in effect, but there was an additional “withholding” order that prevented him from being summarily sent back to El Salvador. In the over five years since, Abrego Garcia has fathered one child, gotten married (the other two children often referred to are his wife’s, not biologically his), and has been living in Maryland – when he wasn’t allegedly involved in suspected human trafficking. This was confirmed on Thursday when the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Abrego Garcia had indeed been stopped in Tennessee in 2022, with no valid driver’s license and multiple people in the car with him – and they were all released by request of the FBI.

The Star learned from sources familiar with the incident that Abrego Garcia was stopped for an unknown reason on December 6, 2022, and that the THP (Tennessee Highway Patrol) officer responsible for the stop immediately discovered Abrego Garcia was transporting seven passengers, with eight individuals inside the vehicle.

During a nearly two-hour traffic stop, the THP officer determined that Abrego Garcia (pictured above) was operating the vehicle without a valid driver’s license and began searching for information about him.

Something about the traffic stop caused concern in the mind of the THP officer that other law enforcement agencies should be alerted. One source told The Star that THP ultimately discovered Abrego Garcia was on a terrorist watch list, but could not locate Abrego Garcia on a deportation list. Another source told The Star that THP did not discover Abrego Garcia on a terrorist watch list but that another one of the seven passengers in the vehicle may have been on a terrorist watch list.

THP subsequently called the FBI, which was then led by former Director Christopher Wray under the Biden administration. The FBI instructed the THP officers at the scene to capture photographs of all eight people in the vehicle and document its contents.

Once the photographs were captured, this source told The Star that the FBI requested THP release all eight individuals and that the THP officers complied with this request.

The Star learned that the circumstances of the stop made the THP officer responsible for the stop concerned that Abrego Garcia was engaged in human trafficking, but that Abrego Garcia and his passengers were nonetheless released at the request of the FBI.

The Daily Caller got more details from DHS.

Abrego García was pulled over because the vehicle was observed “speeding and unable to maintain its lane,” according to the documents. Abrego García had an expired Maryland “limited term temporary driver’s license,” which is provided to individuals who are not U.S. citizens, authorities said.

The officer identified eight other individuals in the vehicle and Abrego García advised that he was driving them from Texas to Maryland, according to the documents. None of the passengers had any luggage and all provided the same home address, which was Abrego Garcia’s address, authorities said.

Abrego García allegedly pretended to speak less English than he was capable of and attempted to confuse the officer by responding to the officer’s questions with his own.

Abrego García also said the owner of the vehicle was his “boss,” who works in construction, authorities said.

The officer attempted to gather details about the other passengers but was not able to read their handwriting, according to the documents, and Abrego García was given a warning for driving on an expired license.

And all of this was just over two years ago! We have also now learned that Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, filed two restraining orders against him alleging physical abuse in 2020 and 2021, but now says “they worked through it.” The biological father of Vasquez Sura’s two other children apparently filed for emergency custody in 2018 because she was “dating a gang member,” but a judge denied the emergency, and then dismissed the case in 2019. For someone who apparently has NO TIES to MS-13 or any other gangs, it truly is amazing how Kilmar Abrego Garcia keeps being identified in old records as either a gang member, or hanging around with gang members who just happen to be picked up for a murder investigation.

DOJ releases additional information about “Maryland man” and illegal alien Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

In 2019 the Prince George’s County Police Gang Unit determined Garcia was an MS-13 gang member w/ contacts to other members. He admitted he was in the U.S. illegally after arrest… pic.twitter.com/7aIFn7Pqrm

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) April 16, 2025

But none of this matters to Senator Van Hollen. He has a constituent to save and BY GOLLY, he is GONNA GIT SOME ANSWERS!

I can’t wait for some journalist to ask him about his other constituent, Rachel Morin, and what her mother Patty had to say about him. I don’t think Van Hollen will care one bit. He is a senator on a mission – which the American taxpayers are likely footing the bill for – and he just wants to SEE Kilmar Abrego Garcia for himself!

Well, Van Hollen got his wish – a photo op.

I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. 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. pic.twitter.com/U9y2gZpxCb

— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) April 18, 2025

So… do we stand and applaud the senator now? What bravery! What moxie! Whatever! While we don’t know yet how the meeting was facilitated, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele was clearly in on it all – and had no problem reminding Van Hollen and everyone else just what the end result of this visit was.

Democrat Senator, wearing an expression of grave concern while meeting with a MS13 foreign national serial domestic abuser over cocktails; while that same Senator never once considered meeting with the family of Rachel Morin, his own constituent.

Interesting optics, Senator.

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) April 18, 2025

Also, you have to appreciate that Van Hollen tweeted out the picture that had the darker tones (did he run it through a filter?) and also managed to snap a picture before the margaritas were served. Congratulations, Senator – you Did Something™! And for your stunning bravery, you get to… return to the United States with a picture, and possibly the worst photo-op comparison possible, courtesy of the White House X account.

We are not the same. pic.twitter.com/yTUoSXmCBa

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 18, 2025

The legal wrangling over Kilmar Abrego Garcia will continue on (and my decidedly non-lawyer advice is to have the Trump administration have Bukele send him to Guantanamo Bay, where he would be under American jurisdiction, and have his case adjudicated from there and a final deportation order issued) thanks to the Fourth Circuit’s ruling that will send this entire case back to the Supreme Court. What is certain is that the more we learn, the less sympathetic and more unpalatable Kilmar Abrego Garcia becomes – and the more foolish and desperate people like Chris Van Hollen look for championing him. The Trump administration may have brought this all upon themselves without making sure all the paperwork was double-checked, but no one is making Democrats like Van Hollen (or David Hogg, or Cory Booker) go to bat for an illegal alien who an immigration judge said in 2019 had MS-13 ties, who contemporaneous court filings also identify as a gang member, AND whose wife had written up how he had physically abused her. THIS is the guy you want to make the face of Trump’s immigration policy? Good luck with that, Senator Van Hollen.

Featured image: Senator Chris Van Hollen and Kilmar Abrego Garcia, cropped, public domain