The Senate blocked a Democratic push to force the Trump administration to release details on the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and other illegal immigrants to El Salvador.

Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Alex Padilla (D-CA) filed the privileged motion earlier this month that would force the State Department to issue a human rights report on El Salvador, particularly concerning the imprisonment of men deported in recent weeks from the United States.

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Under a rarely invoked provision of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act, the resolution questions whether El Salvador is working with the Trump administration to help carry out the Supreme Court’s ruling to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return.

The resolution does not mention Abrego Garcia by name but refers broadly to Americans or U.S. residents “detained or imprisoned in El Salvador.”

The vote failed 45-50 along party lines. The resolution marks the Democrats’ newest push to spotlight the Trump administration’s efforts to sidestep legal oversight in its deportation practices. 

.@SenSchumer @ChrisVanHollen and @SenTimKaine introduced legislation to require the Trump Administration to produce a report showing steps they are taking to ensure compliance with court orders applicable to citizens or residents wrongfully deported by the U.S. to El Salvador. pic.twitter.com/v2wizMLLPm

— Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) May 1, 2025

“El Salvador, this now goes back years, has a track record of imprisoning individuals, innocent individuals, and the last thing any of us should want is an innocent individual in prison, but especially if that innocent individual is an American,” Kaine said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote. 

“We should all want to know whether Americans detained in El Salvador have an opportunity to demonstrate that they are wrongfully imprisoned,” he said.

The White House has used disputed wartime authority to send hundreds of undocumented immigrants to the Terrorism Confinement Center, El Salvador’s infamous prison, without judicial review.

Normally, the majority party, currently the Republicans, decides what comes up for a vote. But because this measure is considered privileged under Senate rules, Democrats were able to bypass that control, using a procedural workaround available to the minority.

The administration has targeted alleged gang members such as Abrego Garcia, but a CBS News investigation found that many detainees at the prison have neither been charged nor convicted of any crimes.

The White House, insisting it lacks the authority to bring Abrego Garcia back, has highlighted claims that he was part of MS-13, a charge his attorneys deny, along with allegations of domestic abuse made by his wife in court filings.

DEMOCRATS TO REVIVE ABREGO GARCIA SPOTLIGHT WITH SENATE TRANSPARENCY VOTE

Van Hollen, a co-sponsor of the resolution, visited El Salvador last month to meet Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who had been living in Maryland. 

Four House Democrats took a separate trip to highlight concerns about Abrego Garcia’s lack of due process, but those visits have tapered off amid Republican criticism that Democrats are disconnected from voters on immigration issues.

Since Republicans regained control of the Senate in January, Democrats have used privileged resolutions to compel several votes. In April, Kaine dealt Trump a setback on tariffs, with four Republicans backing a measure to revoke his emergency authority.