Exclusive: Van Hollen says Trump has "no excuses" for violating Ábrego García's rights

Kilmar Ábrego García's unlawful deportation underscores a "constitutional crisis," Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Wednesday at an Axios' News Shapers event.The big picture: Van Hollen has led the charge for Kilmar Ábrego García's return to the U.S., traveling to El Salvador earlier this month to meet with Salvadoran officials and the erroneously deported man.Driving the news: "It's clear that the Trump administration continues to violate the Constitution and Ábrego García's due process rights," Van Hollen told Axios' Stephen Neukam Wednesday. Van Hollen said Ábrego García remains in a "total communications blackout" and is unreachable by his family."This is about more than one man," he said. "I'm not vouching for him — I'm vouching for his rights."He continued, "If you take away and trample on his rights, you threaten them for everybody."State of play: On Tuesday, Van Hollen released a strongly worded direct appeal to President Trump, slamming his administration's actions and failure to comply with court orders as "gross violations of the Constitution and due process rights."He emphasized Wednesday, as he did in his letter, that Salvadoran Vice President Félix Ulloa told him during their meeting that "the ball was in America's court." Van Hollen argued, "There are no excuses for the Trump administration to continue to violate his due process rights."Catch up quick: The administration has argued that facilitating Ábrego García's return simply means assisting if El Salvador asks to send him back, Axios' Sam Baker reported. But Van Hollen contended in his letter, "The Government of El Salvador is imprisoning him because your Administration is paying them to do so and they claim to be contractually obligated," a point he reiterated Wednesday.In an ABC interview that aired Tuesday, Trump said he "could" get Ábrego García back. He added, "if he were the gentleman you say he is, I would do that."The administration has repeatedly claimed Ábrego García is a member of MS-13 — though he has not been charged with any gang-related crimes.Go deeper: Democrats demand action to return man mistakenly deported to El Salvador

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