Sen. Chris Van Hollen, with his trip to El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the immigrant deported on allegations of being a member of the M-13 gang, is "being a total hypocrite," former Rep. Pete King said on Newsmax Sunday. 

"I have no sympathy for [Abrego] Garcia," the New York Republican told Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend," adding that he believes Van Hollen, D-Md., was being hypocritical "because he showed no concern or sympathy at all when one of his other constituents was murdered by an illegal Salvadoran immigrant into this country."

Van Hollen told ABC News Sunday that his trip was not about defending Abrego Garcia, but about "defending the rights of this man to due process."

"The Trump administration has admitted in court that he was wrongfully detained and wrongfully deported," Van Hollen said. "My mission and my purpose is to make sure that we uphold the rule of law, because if we take it away from him, we do jeopardize it for everybody else."

King, however, told Newsmax that he believes Abrego Garcia should have been deported, but he does hope that the administration can work out a "favorable decision from the Supreme Court about what standard should be set in the future going forward."

He acknowledged that there are always concerns that "somebody who's totally innocent and happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time" could be deported to El Salvador and prison.

"You can't give a million people full court proceedings," said King, adding that there has to be "some way to show that each person is going down there is, you know, that there's reasonable evidence that they are a member of MS-13 or a Venezuelan gang or whatever because I wouldn't want anyone [to be] an American who happens to be in the room when the raid is conducted."

Still, King said that he does think it's important that criminal immigrants be deported as quickly as possible, "and I hope they can work out a facilitated way to get it done with the Supreme Court."

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., has also spoken about going to El Salvador over the Abrego Garcia deportation, but he has "no interest in this at all," said King. 

"It's a total waste of taxpayers' money" for lawmakers to be traveling on deportation matters, he added. 

"These people have been silent when innocent Americans have been killed," King said. "I've seen it here in New York, Venezuelan gangs attacking people. I don't see any Democratic politician coming in and feeling sorry for those who are being attacked … taxpayers' money should be spent on American causes, not on publicity stunts."

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• Harrison Fields to Newsmax: Sen. Van Hollen 'Trying to Defend Our Enemies'
• El Salvador Rejects Dem Sen. Van Hollen on Garcia Meeting or Release