Exclusive: Van Hollen Never Reached Out About Daughter’s Murder—Patty Morin

Patty Morin, the mother of Rachel Morin who was killed by an undocumented El Salvadoran migrant in 2023, told Newsweek in emailed remarks on Sunday that Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, did not contact her family in the wake of her daughter’s violent murder.

When reached for comment, Van Hollen’s office referred Newsweek to comments the senator made in TV news interviews on Sunday morning.

“What happened to the Morin family was awful and unacceptable. I cannot imagine losing a child like they lost Rachel, and I said at the time that my heart goes out to the Morin family,” the senator told Fox News Sunday.

Why It Matters

Patty Morin, who hails from Maryland, spoke at a White House press conference on Wednesday about her daughter’s brutal killing in 2023 by El Salvadoran national Victor Martinez-Hernandez who was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree rape, third-degree sex offense and kidnapping by a jury on Monday. Martinez-Hernandez had entered the U.S. illegally in 2023 and has known gang ties.

The White House invited Morin to speak as a legal saga and national conversation about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an undocumented migrant who was recently deported to his home country of El Salvador plays out. Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador last week in a high-profile trip to meet with and advocate for Abrego Garcia who previously resided in Maryland as well.

What To Know

Morin told Newsweek on Sunday that “Van Hollen has not contacted our family and has not provided support in the wake of my daughter’s murder by an illegal immigrant from the same country as Abrego Garcia.”

Her daughter Rachel, a 37-year-old mother of five, was reported missing by her boyfriend on August 5, 2023, after she failed to return from a walk. Authorities then discovered Rachel’s body the following day.

Morin criticized the Maryland Democrat for making Abrego Garcia a priority.

“Yet the Maryland Democratic senator is willing to spend American taxpayer money to travel to El Salvador and put the interests of a known illegal immigrant before that of his constituents in Maryland,” she said. “All for a gang member who has violated federal law by living in the United States for over a decade, has been charged with human trafficking, and has a history of violence against women.”

Morin asked: “Why would a lawmaker, one who helps write the laws he expects his constituents to abide by here in Maryland, advocate for one who has been proven over and over again to have violated those laws?”

Abrego Garcia was arrested in 2019 and accused of being a member of the MS-13 gang, which the Trump administration has designated a foreign terrorist organization. Abrego Garcia denied being a member of the gang but two judges, in separate rulings, concluded that he was an MS-13 member, based on confidential information provided to the court. Nonetheless, he was shielded from deportation to his homeland because he said that he would be targeted by MS-13’s gangland rivals.

Abrego Garcia was deported anyway to El Salvador after being arrested last month in what the Trump administration lawyers said was an “administrative error.” His family denies any ties to gangs and Abrego Garcia has no criminal record in the United States, although his wife accused him of domestic violence and obtained a restraining order against him. She now says they have been reconciled.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on April 10 that the Trump administration must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. But the administration has thus far refused to make efforts to bring him back. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the ruling, stating that Abrego Garcia will “never live in the United States of America again.”

What People Are Saying

Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, to Fox News Sunday: “I’m glad that the killer of Rachel Morin has been convicted in a court of law. That’s how we hold guilty people accountable—in a court of law. Courts of law are also where people get their due process rights respected.”

Van Hollen to CNN on Sunday regarding Abrego Garcia’s situation: “I’m for whatever gives him his due process rights. And it was his due process rights where an immigration judge back in 2019 said he should not be deported to El Salvador because that would actually put his life in risk from gang members like MS-13 or others.”

The Democratic senator also told Fox News on Sunday: “I’m not vouching for the man. I’m vouching for the man’s rights. His constitutional rights to due process.”

President Donald Trump during a news conference at the White House on Friday: “You’re talking about Abrego Garcia—he is an illegal alien, MS-13 gang member, and foreign terrorist. This comes from the State Department and very legitimate sources, I assume. I’m just giving you what they handed to me, but this is supposed to be certified stuff.”

Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III wrote in a ruling from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: “The respect that courts must accord the Executive must be reciprocated by the Executive’s respect for the courts. This case presents a unique chance to vindicate that value—and to summon the best that is within us while there is still time.”

Patty Morin to Newsweek on Sunday: “American mothers, daughters, and children will continue to be victims at the hands of illegal immigrants if people like Senator Van Hollen are allowed to dictate our immigration policies in America. Marylanders and Americans should be questioning Senator Van Hollen’s ethics, morals and political motives in defending Abrego Garcia and whether he is even fit for office.”

What Happens Next?

A legal battle over Abrego Garcia’s fate continues to play out in the courts. Whether he is ultimately returned to the U.S. remains to be seen, but even if he is, it is likely that he’d ultimately be deported to a third country.

More Democrats have said they will fly to El Salvador to push for his return, but the partisan pressure hasn’t yielded any results. Meanwhile, Trump administration critics will likely continue to raise concerns about respect for due process especially in the context of deportation cases moving forward.

Update 4/20/25 at 2:49 p.m. ET: The article was updated with additional comments from Van Hollen.