Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded forcefully Tuesday to criticism from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who expressed regret over supporting Rubio’s confirmation due to the deportation of an alleged MS-13 gang member.

During a Senate hearing, Van Hollen accused Rubio of denying due process to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 member who had been deported by the Trump administration.

Garcia, originally from El Salvador, had been linked to gang activity, human trafficking, and domestic violence incidents in the United States.

“I have to tell you directly in person that I regret voting for you for Secretary of State,” Van Hollen said.

Rubio replied, “May I respond? Well first of all, your regret for voting for me means that I’m doing a good job.”

“That’s just a flippant statement, Mr. Secretary,” Van Hollen shot back.

Rubio continued, “We deported gang members … including the one that you had a margarita with. And that guy is a human trafficker and that guy is a gangbanger and the evidence is gonna be clear. In the day to come, you’re gonna see who you went to defend.”

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Documents released by the Department of Justice on April 16 outline Garcia’s history.

Garcia illegally entered the U.S. from El Salvador in 2011.

In March 2019, he was found loitering in a Home Depot parking lot wearing a hoodie and Chicago Bulls hat, with images signifying “good standing” with MS-13, according to law enforcement.

Later that year, in December 2019, the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed Garcia’s appeal against a prior immigration court ruling that identified him as a verified member of the gang.

Additional incidents linked to Garcia included an encounter in Tennessee in 2022, where he was stopped while transporting eight passengers without luggage.

The vehicle he was driving belonged to Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes, an illegal immigrant who was imprisoned in 2020 for human smuggling.

Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, sought a domestic violence restraining order against him in 2021.

Court documents revealed her accusations, including being punched in the eye, having her clothing ripped, and being injured when Garcia threw her laptop to the ground.

Despite these reports, Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador to meet Garcia and was photographed with him at a local restaurant.

Van Hollen confirmed on April 21 that the trip was paid for using U.S. taxpayer funds.

Democratic Reps. Maxwell Frost (FL), Robert Garcia (CA), Yassamin Ansari (AZ), and Maxine Dexter (OR) also visited Garcia in El Salvador in what was seen as a challenge to President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies.

Although officials initially described Garcia’s deportation as a “clerical error,” the Trump administration has stood by the decision to keep him in El Salvador, citing his criminal history and ties to gang activity.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 10 that the administration must “facilitate” Garcia’s return to the U.S., but during an April 14 meeting in the Oval Office, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele told President Trump that he would not permit Garcia to return.