WASHINGTON — Utah Rep. Mike Kennedy was among a group of congressional Republicans who visited a prison in El Salvador at the center of controversy as it currently holds a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported there last month.
Kennedy, along with four other House Republicans, met with officials at the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador on Tuesday, according to a photo posted on social media by the embassy. Kennedy confirmed to the Deseret News he also visited CECOT, a high-security prison known for holding terrorists, which the Utah lawmaker called “sobering.”
“We were face-to-face with prisoners that have committed horrific and unimaginable crimes,” Kennedy told the Deseret News. “These men were once powerful figures outside of this prison, feared by many. These are brutal murderers and rapists, and El Salvador has taken action to put the safety of their citizens first. The United States is doing the same.”
CECOT has been at the forefront of the immigration debate after Kilmar Abrego Garcia was removed from the United States last month and sent to the prison. However, Kennedy said he did not meet with Abrego Garcia nor did he discuss him with Salvadoran officials.
Still, Kennedy expressed support for the Trump administration’s decision to deport immigrants who have entered the country illegally and have a criminal background.
“Many of these dangerous criminals have crossed into our country and committed heinous crimes taking the lives of innocent Americans and the Trump administration is doing what the Biden administration would not — enforcing the law, restoring order, and protecting our citizens,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy’s trip comes as several Democratic lawmakers are seeking to visit the prison themselves to meet with Abrego Garcia amid an ongoing legal battle about whether he should be returned to the United States.
Abrego Garcia, who is from El Salvador, was first notified that his immigration status had been changed on March 12, after ICE agents apprehended him to ask about possible gang affiliations. At the time, Abrego Garcia held “withholding from removal” status, meaning he was approved to stay in the U.S. due to dangers he said he would face if returned to his home country.
Days later, Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador — a move that the Justice Department said occurred because of an “administrative error.”
Since then, the Supreme Court issued a ruling this month that the Trump administration must “facilitate” his release, although top U.S. officials have said they lack the jurisdiction to do so. Meanwhile, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said he cannot return Abrego Garcia to the United States, and he has denied releasing him from prison.
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland was the first lawmaker to meet with Abrego Garcia at the prison earlier this week, claiming there is not sufficient evidence that he has committed gang-related crimes.
The Justice Department has defended its actions, releasing records from the Prince George’s County Police Department in Maryland documenting Abrego Garcia’s arrest in 2019 over suspicion of entering the country illegally.
The document also cites testimony from a redacted source “who has provided truthful accurate information in the past,” claiming Abrego Garcia was “validated as a member” of the MS-13 gang. Additional court records from 2021 show Abrego Garcia’s wife accused him of beating her.
Several other Democrats have pressed for official CODELs to visit the prison, but top Republican leaders have said they would deny those requests.
CODEL is political jargon for “congressional delegation.”
“There is no excuse for Democrats to waste taxpayer dollars visiting and defending a transnational gang member and reported domestic abuser,” Rep. Mark Green, Republican chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said in a statement. “If Democrats care so much about defending this individual, they can use their own personal credit cards — not taxpayers’ money — to virtue-signal to their radical base.”
House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., also denied a request from Democratic Reps. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and Robert Garcia, D-Calif., to approve a CODEL to the prison.
“If you also wish to meet with him, you can spend your own money,” Comer wrote in a letter on Friday. “But I will not approve a single dime of taxpayer funds for use on the excursion you have requested.”