Kaine breaks into Spanish as Dems force vote targeting Trump-El Salvador alliance over deportations

A vote requiring a Trump administration report on its overtures to El Salvador has been procedurally forced by four top Democrats.

Sens. Chris Van Hollen, left, and Timothy Kaine, right, speak on a new resolution. (Fox News)

At a press conference outside the Capitol, the three men laid out how the vote would work, and one lawmaker later disclosed a separate effort to schedule a vote on sanctions against El Salvador over President Nayib Bukele's work with Trump.

"I also send a message to the government of El Salvador," Kaine said during his remakrs, breaking into Spanish midway.

"You might think it's cute right now to grab attention by a bromance with President Donald Trump. He's going to be a president for poco mas (a short time) – tres anos mas (three years more)."

Continuing in Spanish, Kaine said the two countries will always have relations, before transitioning back to English to say that the U.S. will not soon forget "you violating the human rights of American citizens, you're wrong."

"We will remember this forever," Kaine pledged. "And there will be significant and challenging downstream consequences for any nation that violates the rights of Americans."

KILMAR GARCIA NOW GETS 5 TOTAL DEM PROPONENTS IN EL SALVADOR

The move was spurred by the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a suspected MS-13 gang member who was deported from Maryland to his home country last month.

Van Hollen later said the privileged resolution was not expressly about Garcia, but instead the greater idea that such people could be deported and/or treated without due process.

Echoing Kaine on repercussions for San Salvador’s government from Washington, Van Hollen spoke of plans to also seek a sanctions vote against Bukele "and all those who are part of his government conspiring with Donald Trump to deprive residents of the United States of their constitutional rights."

Returning again to speaking bilingually, Kaine responded to a reporter’s question by summing up the privileged resolution in Spanish.

"We have a guarantee of a vote after ten days on El Salvador and we are sending a message to President Trump that he needs to follow the law. And we are also sending a message to President Bukele that we are not going to forget if the government of El Salvador is violating American human rights," he said.

In a statement in English aside from the conference, Kaine said Bukele "has rounded up tens of thousands of Salvadorans without due process and jammed them indefinitely into overpopulated torture centers. And now he’s trying to do the same to people living in the United States," Kaine said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital prior to the conference.

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"We will use this resolution to force accountability," said Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, a House supporter of the resolution – though Kaine said it does not require their blessing.

Van Hollen, who took a junket to El Salvador to attempt to bring Garcia to Maryland – where his family lives – said Trump has failed to comply with the order to facilitate his return.

Both Trump and Bukele appeared to agree in an Oval Office meeting last month that returning Garcia would be "preposterous" and that the court order didn’t quite say what critics said it did.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., for comment.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. 

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant. 

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/kaine-breaks-spanish-dems-force-vote-targeting-trump-bukele-alliance-over-deportations