Mother of Maryland Murder Victim Scolds Senator Over Deportation Case

At a White House press event on Wednesday, Patty Morin, mother of the slain Maryland woman Rachel Morin, stunned reporters by publicly confronting U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D‑MD). She accused him of misusing taxpayer money by traveling to El Salvador to advocate for the return of an alleged MS‑13 gang member who had been deported — all while having barely addressed her daughter’s brutal murder.

Morin, speaking with raw emotion, recounted the 2023 killing of her 37‑year‑old daughter. She expressed fury that a Maryland senator would, in her view, prioritize fighting for a non‑citizen over acknowledging her own child’s death. “A senator from Maryland who scarcely even acknowledged my daughter’s name is flying overseas at taxpayer expense to bring back someone who isn’t a U.S. citizen,” she declared.

Van Hollen had journeyed to El Salvador to lobby for the release and return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was recently deported following apprehension in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Morin challenged the senator’s logic, asking why El Salvador is imprisoning Abrego when, she said, U.S. prosecutors had not demonstrated he had committed any crime on American soil.

Before Morin addressed reporters, Van Hollen spoke to the press, making the claim that Abrego’s detention in El Salvador was lacking in legal foundation and arguing that he should be released. Observers noted that Van Hollen’s remarks included statements later contradicted by documentation from the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Newly released papers show that Abrego Garcia was previously identified by U.S. authorities as having ties to the now‑designated terrorist group MS‑13. The documents also confirm that he entered the U.S. illegally and had a federal deportation order. So, his critics argue, he was never a law-abiding resident. The DOJ initially asserted that his deportation was in error, citing a 2019 court order that temporarily shielded him from removal due to safety concerns in El Salvador.

The dispute deepened after Stephen Miller, a former White House adviser, sharply criticized the DOJ filings. In a televised exchange, he called the DOJ lawyer who asserted Abrego was abducted by ICE an internal “saboteur,” arguing that the filing had been intentionally misleading. That controversy fed into a Democratic push to bring Abrego back to the U.S., culminating in an April 10 Supreme Court decision. The Court instructed the government to “facilitate” his return and treat his case as though the allegedly erroneous deportation had never occurred. Still, the Court did not order the government to ensure Abrego’s physical return.

During a meeting at the White House, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele rejected the idea of Abrego’s return as “preposterous.” The Trump administration countered that the Court order did not compel immediate execution of the return, leaving space for legal maneuvering.

Amid the legal and political sparring, Homeland Security revealed that Abrego had been accused of domestic abuse in 2021. Though his actions appear unrelated to the Morin murder, Patti Morin used the case to underscore her broader demand that the U.S. more aggressively deport alleged criminals.

“This is her story, and it matters,” she told the press. “We saw evidence AFTER evidence in the trial against this illegal immigrant from El Salvador. He saw her alone, he attacked her, dragged her nearly 150 feet. Her blood trailed all the way to a culvert. Then he threw her against a wall, raped her, and left her for dead.”

She asked rhetorically: “Why are we not protecting our citizens? Why are we not protecting our children?” She directed those worded demands squarely at Van Hollen inside the briefing room.

The trial of Abrego Garcia resulted in his conviction on charges connected to Rachel’s murder. It laid bare many layers of aggravating evidence — from forensic traces to witness testimony. Morin emphasized that while the evidence was made public and devastating, the political response from her home state’s leadership was muted at best.

Van Hollen, in Maryland and across the political spectrum, has generally supported more moderate immigration reforms. His trip to El Salvador was part of a broader bid to manage international deportation disputes. But his intervention in this case drew fierce criticism from Morin’s family and conservative commentators who saw it as misplaced advocacy.

In the months following the murder, Morin’s family has pushed for stronger enforcement against criminal immigration violations. They have repeatedly asked federal officials to give priority to cases involving convicted violent offenders over more minor immigration breaches.

In the White House briefing room that day, Patty Morin made one thing clear: her grief is ongoing, her anger is real, and she expects elected officials to treat her daughter’s death with the same seriousness she does.

Whether Van Hollen’s involvement changes Abrego’s fate remains unclear. But the moment publicly exposed a rift in political priorities — and raised profound questions about whose voices are heard when tragic crimes intersect with complex immigration debates.