Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Friday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was completely in the dark about his family’s battle to secure his release and the intense political debate over his future when the Maryland Democrat met with the mistakenly deported man in El Salvador this week.

“When I told him that his wife and family said their love and were fighting for Kilmar to return home every day, he said that he was worried about all of you, that was his response,” Van Hollen told reporters at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C.

“How are you dealing with this horrible ordeal and nightmare for the family,” Van Hollen said, adding that a tear rolled down the detainee's cheek as he relayed how much he missed his family.

“He said that thinking of you, members of his family, is what gave him the strength to persevere, to keep going day to day, even under these awful circumstances," said Van Hollen, who spoke just after his return from the dramatic visit to see Abrego Garcia.

Van Hollen said Abrego Garcia knew nothing about the Supreme Court directive to facilitate his return and had been blocked from information about the outside world even after his transfer out of the notorious CECOT prison, as it is known by its Spanish-language acronym.

Abrego Garcia is now at a facility in Santa Ana, El Salvador.

“He still has no access to any news from the outside world and no ability to communicate with anybody in the........

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