A pair of House Democrats say they want to conduct “welfare checks” on illegal aliens who were deported from the United States to El Salvador’s Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) mega-prison.
In a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY), Reps. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) request the committee approve travel to El Salvador so they can visit at least two illegal aliens, accused of being gang members, who were deported last month as part of a large deportation effort by the Trump administration.
“We respectfully request authorization for a Congressional Member Delegation (CODEL) to visit the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), the maximum-security prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador,” Garcia and Frost write.
Garcia and Frost say they want to visit 29-year-old illegal alien Kilmar Abrego Garcia, accused of being an MS-13 gang member, who was deported after illegally crossing the border in 2011.
1. When Garcia was arrested he was found with rolls of cash and drugs.
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) April 16, 2025
2. He was arrested with two other members of MS-13.
3. Two judges found that he was a member of MS-13. That finding has not been disturbed.
4. When arrested he was wearing what is effectively MS-13’s uniform. pic.twitter.com/iDY7jP371Y
The Democrats also say they want to visit 30-year-old Andry José Hernandez, who they say is a “LGBTQ makeup artist” with a pending asylum application in the U.S.
“A Congressional delegation would allow Committee Members to conduct a welfare check on Mr. Abrego Garcia, as well as others held at CECOT,” Garcia and Frost wrote. “… in addition, congressional oversight is warranted following President Trump’s recent remarks in which he expressed a desire to send ‘homegrown criminals’ — including U.S. citizens — to this facility.”
“We are prepared to travel as soon as possible,” they wrote. “We would gladly include any Republican Members of the Committee who wish to participate. Given that the Senate has already authorized CODEL travel to CECOT, we believe the House should also be represented.”
Today, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is leading Democrats on a trip to El Salvador to visit deported illegal aliens, including Abrego Garcia.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
