A standing-room-only crowd welcomed U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) for a community conversation at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law on Sept. 29.

(L-R) Professor Aadhithi Padmanabhan and Sen. Chris Van Hollen

Part of the law school’s “Anchor Events” series, the occasion featured a lunchtime discussion between the Maryland senator and associate professor Aadhithi Padmanabhan, JD, director of the Federal Appellate Immigration Clinic, which is part of the Chacón Center for Immigrant Justice at Maryland Carey Law.

Van Hollen shared his perspective on the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador this year. Drawing international attention to the Beltsville, Md., resident’s plight, Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador in April to advocate for Abrego Garcia’s constitutional right to due process and return to the United States. The senator described his encounter with Salvadoran military officers when he attempted to visit the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) where, at one point, Abrego Garcia was being held, and his eventual meeting with the incarcerated Marylander.

Abrego Garcia’s deportation without due process was a “gross violation of his rights,” Van Hollen said.

An in-depth discussion on immigration policy, the rule of law, checks and balances, and free speech ensued between Padmanabhan and Van Hollen. Students were then given the opportunity to pose their own questions.

A second-year law student took the opportunity to ask the senator what law students could do to protect people’s constitutional rights. In answer, Van Hollen called on the assemblage to seek justice for clients through Maryland Carey Law’s Clinical Law Program, to make their voices heard as private citizens, and to never miss an opportunity to vote.

“The only way to defeat fear is to stand up against it,” he said.

After the official program, the senator graciously spent a few minutes posing for photos and chatting with participants individually.

Van Hollen was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016. His committee assignments include the Appropriations Committee; the Foreign Relations Committee; the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee; and the Budget Committee. Previously, he represented Maryland’s Eighth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.