Senator Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA) visit to the Kalona Rotary Club on Tuesday included a tense discussion of the detention of Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego-Garcia and other alleged undocumented immigrants placed in the CECOT prison in El Salvador.

Grassley focused on the denial of Abrego-Garcia’s asylum claim. However, Abrego-Garcia had a “withholding of removal” order, which is a narrower protection than asylum which prevented him from being deported to El Salvador specifically. The order was granted on the grounds that it was more likely than not that he would face persecution should he be removed there, according to the Supreme Court’s April 10 ruling in Kristy Noem, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security v. Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia.

When pressed by an audience member, Grassley then focused on the president’s power to control foreign relations, saying that there was nothing further that could be done.

“It’s not the President of the United States, even if he did everything the court said, we’re dealing with an independent country, and the president of an independent country, and that president isn’t bound by our Supreme Court,” Grassley said before getting cut off by the woman who asked the initial question. She said, “But Congress is paying them to keep our prisoners. Congress is allowing that. At what point do you stand up to the president and say, ‘We will not allow this?’”

When asked about Abrego-Garcia in a press conference following the event, Grassley continued, “I don’t have to condemn the president, because the president hasn’t said he’s not going to follow the law, in fact he says, ‘I’m going to abide by court decisions, I might appeal,’ as recently as [Sunday]. I have great respect for the Supreme Court, so I’m not going to respond to a question about the president not respecting the rule of law or the Supreme Court.”

Abrego-Garcia remains in El Salvadoran custody as the legal battle over facilitating his return continues.