Apparently, if you’re an alleged MS-13 member, you’ve got a friend in high places—specifically, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. This month, the senator packed his bags, boarded a taxpayer-funded flight, and landed in El Salvador—not to crack down on gang violence, not to aid U.S. interests—but to advocate for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man deported by the Trump administration due to alleged gang ties.
Let that sink in. While American families are still praying for the release of hostages held by Hamas since October 7, Van Hollen decided the best use of his time and our money was to stage a diplomatic crusade… for someone suspected of being part of a notorious criminal enterprise.
This is not a question of due process. It’s a question of priorities.
To be fair, Garcia’s legal team denies he was ever part of MS-13, and he hasn’t been formally charged. But the broader issue here is telling: when it comes to a foreign national with suspected gang affiliations, Van Hollen makes international headlines. When it comes to American citizens kidnapped by terrorists in Gaza? Crickets.
Where was this level of urgency from Democrats when Hamas dragged innocent Americans from their homes during a massacre? I don’t recall any taxpayer-funded delegation trips to Tel Aviv, no selfie-laden diplomacy tours with hostage families, and certainly no press conference passion projects like we just saw in El Salvador.
Yes, there were negotiations. Quiet ones. But they didn’t involve Van Hollen flying over to demand answers or hold anyone accountable. Funny how the moral clarity kicks in when it’s politically fashionable—but disappears when Hamas is involved.
This isn’t about one man in El Salvador. It’s about a pattern—a disturbing one. Democrats seem far more energized defending non-citizens with controversial pasts than standing up for American citizens being held by a terrorist regime. And while Senator Van Hollen claims his trip was about justice and the Constitution, let’s not pretend this isn’t an optics stunt wrapped in legalese.
When your party has more face time with MS-13 suspects than with the families of American hostages, it’s time for a moral audit.
Senator Van Hollen may have stamped his passport on the way to a photo op, but he left something behind: the people who elected him to fight for Americans.
Carolyn Spencer is a writer and policy commentator based in Maryland. She covers national security, foreign affairs, and government accountability.
Direct Line News is a Maryland-based free-access publication committed to the Republican reform tradition.
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