Imogen James
Live reporter, Washington DC

It's been another day of developments on two immigration-related fronts in the United States.

The case of Kilmar Ábrego García, a man mistakenly deported to a mega-prison in El Salvador, was in focus again today.

That's because Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen visited El Salvador, meeting with Ábrego García. It was the first time he had been seen or heard from since his deportation in March. When Van Hollen returned to the US earlier today, he said Ábrego García was moved from the Cecot facility, which "traumatised" him, to another prison.

Van Hollen said he will continue to work on his release, and says Ábrego García wishes to return to the United States.

President Trump again alleged him to be a member of the violent MS-13 gang in a post on Truth Social, as his staff say the man will stay in El Salvador.

Simultaneously, it appears the Trump administration might continue deporting Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act, which has already seen hundreds removed.

An emergency court hearing was held this evening, and a judge denied an attempt to delay further flights.

So now we wait to see if more flights will take off, and if Ábrego García will return to America.

Our live page coverage is closing but thank you for joining us.

For further reading, here's more on today's developments.

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller insists no mistake has been made in sending Kilmar Ábrego García, a man living in the US state of Maryland, back to El Salvador.

He also insists it is not the United States' responsibility to ensure he does not end up in a notorious prison, despite him never being convicted of any crime.

Take a look at his comments below:

Judge James Boasberg has denied the American Civil Liberties Union's request to delay the deportation of more Venezuelans, alleged by the Trump administration to be gang members.

He made the ruling during an emergency court case, as the nonprofit argued the next round of deportation flights for dozens more migrants were imminent.

Image source, Getty Images

A lawyer for the Department of Justice has told a US federal judge that there will be no deportation flights tonight under the Alien Enemies Act.

Judge James Boasberg is holding an emergency court hearing after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed to attempt to stop further use of the act.

Earlier, the ACLU filed court documents, stating that dozens of Venezuelans are set to be imminently deported from a detention facility in Texas.

The DOJ lawyer also told the judge that the people he has spoken to are not aware of plans for any flights tomorrow but later argued the government reserves the right to deport people on Saturday.

An emergency hearing is being held after a civil rights nonprofit filed a court document claiming dozens of Venezuelans are set to be imminently deported from a detention facility in Texas.

Judge James Boasberg ordered the hearing as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argued for slowing the deportations under the Alien Enemies Act - which is what Trump is using to deport migrants.

It comes after they filed a Habeas Petition (a legal request challenging a person's detention) two days ago, pleading for the deportation of two Venezuelan men to be halted.

In the document, external, the ACLU describes how the men - referred to only as AARP and WMM - fear being deported to El Salvador after being detained while seeking asylum in the US.

And another document, external has been filed by the ACLU which says that these removals "are imminent and will happen tonight or tomorrow".

The latest has been filed to the Supreme Court.

When asked about it this morning, US President Donald Trump replied: "I don't know about the group you're talking about, but if they're bad people, I would certainly authorize it."

The civil rights body has asked the court to issue an order stopping their removal "so that it has time to consider these important issues".

Boasberg previously ordered flights carrying deported immigrants to be stopped, but was ignored.

The case of United States vs Ábrego García has traveled the length and breadth of the US justice system since his most recent arrest and deportation to El Salvador last month.

Here's a timeline of the key dates you need to know about this case.

• 12 March - Ábrego García is arrested by ICE in Baltimore
• 15 March - Ábrego García is deported from Texas to Center for the Confinement of Terrorism in El Salvador

• 24 March - Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wife of Ábrego García sues US government
• 1 April - Government lawyer admits Ábrego García's deportation was an "administrative error" that violated a 2019 judge's order that shielded him from deportation
• 4 April - Judge Xinis in Maryland rules in Vasquez Sura's favour and asks government to "facilitate and effectuate" Ábrego García's return

Image source, Reuters

• 10 April - US Supreme Court unanimously affirms Judge Xinis' order but also says judiciary is limited on foreign policy matters
• 11 April - Judge Xinis orders daily updates from US government on how it is trying to bring Ábrego García back
• 14 April - Attorney General Pam Bondi tells reporters El Salvador is responsible for Ábrego García. President Nayib Bukele says he won't return him during visit to the White House
• 16 April - Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen travels to El Salvador but is denied access to prison where Ábrego García is held
• April 17 - Van Hollen shares photos of meeting with Ábrego García

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to deport some violent criminals who are US citizens to Salvadoran prisons if his administration determine it is legal.

Speaking at a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said: "We always have to obey the laws, but we also have homegrown criminals that push people into subways, that hit elderly ladies on the back of the head with a baseball bat when they're not looking, that are absolute monsters.

"I'd like to include them in the group of people to get them out of the country, but you'll have to be looking at the laws on that."

Trump was also filmed speaking to Bukele away from the official sit-down with journalists, telling El Salvador's leader that "homegrowns" are next for imprsonment in the Central American country and that Bukele would have to build "five more places", referring to the country's notorious mega-jail, Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (Cecot) to house them.

"Yeah, we've got space," Bukele says in response.

Image source, EPA

While Senator Van Hollen was getting ready to head back to the US from El Salvador this morning, Donald Trump called the lawmaker a "fool" for making the trip.

The US president posted on Truth Social, external that the Maryland senator was "begging for attention from the Fake News Media, or anyone", and called him a "GRANDSTANDER!!!"

Image source, Reuters

We've been bringing you live updates on Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen's news conference about his meeting with Kilmar Ábrego García in El Salvador.

Here's a summary of what he said:

• He says Ábrego García is being held with 25 others in a cell at Cecot prison, where he was taunted by inmates in other blocks
• Nine days ago, Ábrego García was moved to another prison in Santa Ana, El Salvador, which has better conditions
• Van Hollen says the El Salvadorean government blocked him several times before Ábrego García was finally brought to meet him at his hotel
• He says officials tried to make it look like everything was "lovely" with Ábrego García, suggesting they meet by the pool and offering margaritas, which they didn't touch
• Van Hollen says the US embassy won't help secure Ábrego García's release
• He adds the case isn't just about "one man" – it's "about protecting the constitutional rights of everybody who resides in the United States"

The senator has just said Ábrego García told him that nine days ago (9 April), he was moved from the notorious Cecot mega-prison to a new facility in Santa Ana, El Salvador, which had better conditions.

This seems to differ from sworn testimony given to a Maryland judge by Michael G Kozak, a senior State Department official.

Kozak told Judge Xinis on 12 April, in a daily update, that Abrego Garcia was at Cecot.

Subsequent statements from US officials have also said he was at Cecot, as CBS News, the BBC's US partner, pointed out.

Image source, Reuters

Before Van Hollen's news conference, Donald Trump has again described Kilmar Ábrego García as an MS-13 gang member, calling him "not a very innocent guy".

At the White House, the US president read from a document he said was prepared by the State Department. It outlined accusations of Ábrego García’s alleged gang ties and a 2022 traffic offence in Tennessee.

He also repeated earlier comments by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who spoke about domestic violence allegations made by Ábrego García’s US citizen wife, who had sought a protective order.

“This is the man that the Democrats are wanting us to fly back from El Salvador to be a happily ensconced member of the USA family,” the president said.

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, in a statement this week, said she sought the order “out of caution” and added they were able to resolve things as a family, including through counselling.

As we've just heard, a woman named Rachel Morin was mentioned.

Here’s what it’s about.

Rachel Morin was killed in August 2023 in an unrelated incident. The suspect is an alleged illegal immigrant from El Salvador.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt brought up Morin at a briefing on Wednesday. "Where are the Democrats when innocent Americans are victimised by illegal criminals?" Leavitt said.

Rachel Morin's mother, Patty Morin, who lives in Maryland, also spoke to Fox News. She said Van Hollen never met with her after her daughter's death.

"His silence towards my daughter... shows that he would rather value the criminal than the victim."

Kilmar Abrego Garcia's case is not alleged to be related to Morin's death.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

The news conference has just concluded.

The senator is now hugging and shaking hands with some of Ábrego García's supporters.

Stay with us as we bring you recaps, explainers and analysis.

Image source, Reuters

Van Hollen is asked why he was allowed to visit Ábrego García after initially being told no.

"They were feeling the pressure," he says, explaining that there were two major press conferences while he was in El Salvador.

"They decided that it was not a good look" to deny access to Ábrego García, says Van Hollen.

He also says he doesn't think the White House was involved in organising the meeting.

Van Hollen mentions he told the vice-president of El Salvador that he might be the first member of Congress to visit, but he "won't be the last. There are others coming."

Image source, Reuters

Van Hollen is now asked about Republican critics who accused him of not caring about the family of Rachel Morin, a Maryland woman killed by a Salvadoran immigrant in 2023.

Van Hollen says his "heart breaks for what happened to them".

He says he is glad a court had now convicted Morin's killer this week.

Image source, Reuters

Van Hollen is asked if there was any sign the Trump administration is more flexible than they've said in public.

He says he met with people at the American Embassy. He asked if they’d had any instructions from Washington to help with Ábrego García's release.

"The answer was no."

Speaking about his safety, Van Hollen says that during his time there, he was never afraid. He adds that the Salvadoran soldiers acted professionally when they stopped him from entering Cecot.

Van Hollen says he asked Ábrego García if he was okay, and he said yes.

The Democratic senator says El Salvadoran authorities wanted the meeting to happen "by the side of a pool".

"They wanted to create the appearance that life was just lovely for Kilmar."

Image source, Reuters

Van Hollen is now discussing the conditions inside Cecot prison, where Ábrego García was first held.

Ábrego García told the senator he guessed there were about 100 people packed into some of the cells.

He added that during daily roll calls, everyone calls out their names.

In his own cell, there were about 25 people.

He said he wasn't afraid of the prisoners in his own cell, but he did get taunted by others.

Image source, Reuters

Van Hollen is now talking about whether he drank margaritas with Ábrego García.

Some people on social media - including El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele - have been mocking Ábrego García for supposedly drinking margaritas with Van Hollen, based on photos Bukele shared of the pair's meeting.

The senator says the glasses of margarita were put there by Salvadoran government officials to make it look like the two had been drinking alcohol.

He insists that neither of them touched the cocktail.

Van Hollen is now talking about what the Trump administration said regarding how Ábrego García ended up in El Salvador.

In court, they said he had been "mistakenly detained", calling it an "administrative error".

Van Hollen says this error led to him being "abducted... that has deprived him of his personal freedom and liberty".

Instead of correcting their mistake, Van Hollen says they sacked the lawyer who "told the truth" about it.

He also says that, even though the courts ordered Ábrego García's return, the Trump administration and El Salvador are ignoring this.

"This case is not only about one man... It is about protecting fundamental freedoms," he adds.