President Donald Trump’ s administration has acknowledged mistakenly deporting a Maryland man with protected legal status to a notorious El Salvador prison, but is arguing against returning him to the United States because of his alleged gang ties and the U.

A spokeswoman for the presidency of El Salvador, Wendy Ramos, did not respond to requests for information about Senator Van Hollen’s meeting with Abrego Garcia, including whether he had been returned to the prison where American officials have said he is being held, the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT.