Round Up: Van Hollen Meets With Deported Man In El Salvador; Judge Rips Md Health Dept. For Psychiatric Bed Crisis; Hs Grad Rate Reaches Seven Year High

By , Marylandreporter on April 21, 2025
Sen. Chris Van Hollen meets with Kilmar Abrego-Garcia and an unidentified man at an unidentified location. Photo from X posting of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele

SALVADORAN OFFICIALS LET VAN HOLLEN TO MEET WITH ABREGO GARCIA: Sen. Chris Van Hollen was finally able to meet Thursday night with Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Beltsville resident who was erroneously deported last month to his native El Salvador, where he has been held incommunicado in that country’s megaprison for terrorists. Shauneen Miranda/Maryland Matters. 

  • Van Hollen said on Thursday night that he had met in San Salvador with Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man whose wrongful deportation to El Salvador last month has become a flashpoint in the immigration debate and fueled a standoff between the Trump administration and the courts. Robert Jimison/The New York Times.
  •  The senator arrived in the Central American nation Wednesday and initially said all his attempts to meet with the man whose case is at the center of an escalating standoff between the Trump administration and the courts had failed. But on Thursday evening, he shared an image of himself seated at a table with a man he identified as Abrego García. Theodoric Meyer, María Luisa Paúl and Maria Sacchetti/The Washington Post. 
  • El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele posted images of the meeting minutes before Van Hollen shared his post, saying, “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody.” The tweet ended with emojis of the U.S. and El Salvador flags, with a handshake emoji between them. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
  • In another X posting with photos, Bukele says “Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the “death camps” & “torture”, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!” [Photos show a coffee cup and glasses of water.]

BULLS HAT, LOITERING, AN UNNAMED INFORMANT: WHY FEDS SAY GARCIA IS GANG- CONNECTED: Why Declaring Kilmar Abrego Garcia an official gang member required checking only two boxes on a law enforcement worksheet. But the Prince George’s County Police Department checked five boxes on a gang worksheet for Abrego Garcia when he was arrested in 2019. Daniel Zawodny and John-John Williams IV/The Baltimore Banner. 

  • The Abrego García case: A timeline and assessment of key documents. Trump administration officials forcefully defend deporting the Maryland man, but they ignore a key document at the crux of the dispute. The Washington Post. 

GARCIA CASE: PROTECTIVE ORDER RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: Recently shared documents are raising questions about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old man who lived with his family in Beltsville before he was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison. Candy Woodhall/The Baltimore Sun. 

THOUSANDS COULD LOSE MEDICAID COVERAGE IF WORK REQUIREMENT IS IMPOSED: As many as 109,000 Marylanders could get thrown off Medicaid if Congress follows through on a proposal to impose a work requirement for the coverage, according to a new report. Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters. 

JUDGE RIPS MD HEALTH DEPT. FOR PSYCHIATRIC BED CRISIS: An Anne Arundel County judge has ripped the Maryland Department of Health for its presentation of what he described as a woefully inadequate plan to address the state’s psychiatric bed crisis. Alex Mann/The Baltimore Banner.

HIGH SCHOOL GRAD RATE REACHES SEVEN YEAR HIGH: Maryland’s high school graduation rate climbed to 88% in 2024, reaching its highest point since 2017, according to the Maryland State Department of Education. The increase of nearly 2 percentage points over the previous year marks a significant recovery following pandemic-era declines. Erin Sjostedt/Maryland Matters.

7 UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND STUDENTS LOSE VISAS AMID FEDERAL CRACKDOWN: Seven international students at the University of Maryland, College Park have lost their visas. The state’s flagship university shared the news on Thursday, after previously declining to disclose the number of students impacted as the Trump administration cancels student visas en masse. Ellie Wolfe/The Baltimore Banner. 

DRUG AFFORDABILITY BOARD ABOUT TO SET UPPER LIMIT ON PRESCRIPTIONS: Cheaper prescription drugs are on the way in Maryland. Years after being formed, the prescription drug affordability board is close to cutting the costs of several drugs. Prescription drugs cost Marylanders millions each year. The prescription drug affordability board is getting expanded access to bring those costs down. Jeff Morgan/WMAR-TV. 

DEMAND FOR ABORTIONS IS STABILIZING: Maryland saw a leveling out in the number of abortions performed in 2024. The statistics could signal what the new demand for abortions in the state will be as bans on the procedures in other states have started to sink in. Scott Maucione/WYPR.

UNITED HEALTHCARE KILLING SUSPECT INDICTED ON DEATH PENALTY-ELIGIBLE CHARGES: Luigi Mangione was indicted Thursday on a federal murder charge in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a necessary step for prosecutors to seek the death penalty.  Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister/Associated Press.

BGE DISPUTES REPORT THAT FALSIFIED GAS PIPELINE INSPECTIONS: A former Baltimore Gas and Electric employee was fired last year after failing to inspect assigned crews on multiple occasions and complete performance reports on company contractors, BGE said in a state filing Thursday. Lorraine Mirrabella/The Baltimore Sun.