It’s a case that’s captured national attention, and now the man who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador is being held right here in Virginia.
Senator Mark Warner traveled to the Farmville detention center where Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being held.
“A few hours ago, I left the Farmville detention center, where I had a chance to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia. I gave him letters from his family, and you can imagine how emotional he was,” Warner said in a video on social media.
Warner took to social media after meeting with Abrego Garcia, whose case has drawn national attention.
Abrego Garcia has been held at the Farmville immigration detention center since being detained by immigration authorities in Baltimore last week.
“I think he felt secure in the facility, which was good news,” Warner said.
But Warner tells 10 News he’s concerned over pressure for Abrego Garcia to plead guilty.
“Since DHS had already made one mistake and sent him to El Salvador illegally, he feels very much that they are trying to pressure him into pleading guilty for some of the charges against him.”
Warner says the stakes are high, claiming the Trump administration’s policies could send Abrego Garcia to a country where he has no ties.
“If he pleads guilty, they’ll deport him to some place like Costa Rica, if he doesn’t plead guilty, they’re going to try to deport him to Uganda, where he has no ties, no knowledge, he’s never been to Africa,” Warner said.
While Warner says he can’t weigh in on some of the allegations from the Trump administration, he is concerned for due process.
“In October, he has another hearing on due process. There should be no action taken on deportation of this individual until that due process claim is resolved,” Warner said.
But aside from Abrego Garcia, Warner raised more concerns over the facility.
“Some probably belong there, but there were a number that had no prior criminal record, they were picked up off the street, they had barely any chance to communicate back with their families,” Warner said.
He tells me he’s working with the owners of the facility to get better access to food and healthcare for detainees.
“I’ve been in a lot of jails and prisons, it wasn’t by any means the worst, it wasn’t the best. Not having curdled milk, or making sure that you’ve got hand sanitizer and some of these things that aren’t going to break the bank, but at least allow some level of humane treatment,” he said.
We reached out to Governor Glen Youngkin, but his team deffered us to the facility itself.
We reached out to the facility through I.C.E., but have not heard back.