Mayor Adams rips Maryland Sen. Van Hollen over ‘tequila drink’ with ‘gang member’

Mayor Eric Adams took an apparent swipe Tuesday at a Maryland senator who met with a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador – saying at a press conference that he would not sip a “tequila drink” with a "gang member."

“It’s time for all of us to ask the question, particularly those who are in government who find it more convenient to have a tequila drink with someone who’s a gang member: Which side are you on?” Adams said.

The statement was an apparent reference to Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who traveled to El Salvador last week to meet with a constituent who was mistakenly deported to the country. When Van Hollen met with the man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, he was photographed at a table with drinks he said were placed there by Salvadorian officials in what he called a setup.

Abrego Garcia has never been charged or convicted of any crime, including gang activity, a federal judge wrote in an opinion earlier this month.

“Let me tell you something, I won’t have a tequila drink with a gang member. I won’t be hanging out with them and hugging them,” Adams said Tuesday.

The statements come as Adams has largely thrown his support behind President Donald Trump’s efforts to crack down on undocumented migrants crossing into the United States.

Adams also recently issued an executive order that allows federal immigration authorities to maintain an office at the jail complex on Rikers Island.

On Tuesday, Adams was speaking at a press conference directly beside the Trump administration’s "border czar" Tom Homan, where they announced the federal indictment of 27 alleged members and associates of the Tren De Aragua gang in the Southern District of New York. The defendants face racketeering, weapons, sex trafficking and other charges, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Earlier this month, the mayor also announced he would forgo the Democratic primary and run for a second term as an independent.

In a statement, Van Hollen said the Trump administration has said in court that it wrongfully abducted and deported Abrego Garcia to a prison in El Salvador and cited the judge who said there is no evidence "linking Abrego Garcia to MS-13 or to any terrorist activity."

"This is not about one man, it is about standing up for EVERYONE’S right to due process under the Constitution," Van Hollen said. "When the constitutional rights of one man are taken away, the rights of all are threatened. I would have thought Mayor Adams would understand that."

The photographs of Van Hollen were publicized by El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, a right-wing leader who has been accused of authoritarianism and has closely allied himself with Trump. Bukele claimed on Twitter that the photos showed the senator and Abrego Garcia sipping margaritas in the “tropical paradise of El Salvador.”

City Hall did not immediately respond when asked to clarify if the mayor was referring to Van Hollen.

Trump and officials from his administration have repeatedly said Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, an accusation that has not been substantiated in court.

Earlier this month, a federal judge in Maryland ordered the Trump administration to work to bring him back to the United States. In the order, Judge Paula Xinis wrote the claim he is a gang member is unsubstantiated and relied on vague evidence such as a Chicago Bulls hat and a hooded sweatshirt.

At the press conference, Homan touted the Tren De Aragua case as an example of what can be done if federal immigration authorities collaborate with local law enforcement.

He also criticized a recent lawsuit by the City Council that has sought to block federal immigration enforcement at jails on Rikers Island.

“I hope the people who filed the lawsuit see this press conference today," he said. "What you see today is a result of collaboration between local and federal law enforcement."

This story has been updated to include a statement from Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.