CNN, MSNBC Skip WH Briefing with Mom of Murdered Victim

Patty Morgin At TWH (NYPost Graphic)

Rachel Morin’s mother, Patty Morin, publicly criticized Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen for traveling to El Salvador to advocate for the release of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran national deported by the Trump administration in March 2025. 

Abrego Garcia, accused by U.S. authorities of being an MS-13 gang member, was sent to El Salvador’s high-security CECOT prison. Van Hollen’s trip, which took place on April 16, 2025, aimed to press for Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S., citing an “administrative error” in his deportation and a lack of evidence tying him to MS-13. The Supreme Court had ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” his return, though the administration resisted, claiming limited authority.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is led by force by guards
at the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador

Patty Morin expressed outrage on Fox News’ Hannity on April 15, 2025, highlighting Van Hollen’s lack of engagement with her family after her daughter Rachel, a Maryland mother of five, was raped and murdered in August 2023 by Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, an undocumented Salvadoran convicted on April 14, 2025. 

Here's a question for @ChrisVanHollen from Patty Morin:

"Why are we not protecting the American citizens, it’s just common sense. Why are we not protecting our children?"

"To have a senator from Maryland who didn’t even acknowledge, or barely acknowledged, my daughter and the… pic.twitter.com/OZzcqK67A7

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) April 16, 2025

Video from Fox News:   Patty noted that Van Hollen offered no condolences, made no calls, and took no action to support the search for Rachel’s killer, contrasting this with his efforts for Abrego Garcia. She called his priorities “sick” and “disgusting,” a sentiment echoed by X users and Trump officials like Border Czar Tom Homan and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who accused Van Hollen of prioritizing an alleged gang member over Maryland victims of illegal immigrant crime.

Van Hollen’s trip was unsuccessful; El Salvador’s Vice President Félix Ulloa denied his request to meet or speak with Abrego Garcia, citing procedural issues. Critics, including the White House and Republican figures, framed the trip as a misuse of taxpayer resources, while Van Hollen and some Democrats, like Reps. Maxwell Frost and Yassamin Ansari, argued it was about due process and correcting an unjust deportation. The case has fueled broader debates over immigration policy, with Patty Morin’s grief amplifying calls for accountability from Maryland’s Democratic leadership.