After ranting and raving about the Trump administration deporting Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant to El Salvador in recent days, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) announced on Tuesday he was going to El Salvador. The senator has received criticism for expressing concern against Abrego Garcia, whom he has referred to by his first name and as a "Maryland man," while not posting anything about Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother who was raped and murdered by an illegal immigrant last year.
Van Hollen posted about such a trip for Wednesday on Tuesday night, which he had already been hinting at. As he's been claiming, Van Hollen posted how "Mr. Abrego Garcia was illegally abducted by the Trump Admin and, by their own admission, wrongly deported to El Salvador," which the administration has said was an "administrative error" on the exact details. "He shouldn’t have to spend another second away from his family," Van Hollen continued to lament, despite never once posting about Morin's family.
Mr. Abrego Garcia was illegally abducted by the Trump Admin and, by their own admission, wrongly deported to El Salvador. He shouldn’t have to spend another second away from his family.
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) April 15, 2025
I'm flying to El Salvador tomorrow morning to check on his condition and discuss his return.
In sharing a statement about Van Hollen's trip, the RNC's Abigail Jackson called out the senator for not speaking up for Morin.
"Following his abduction and unlawful deportation, U.S. federal courts have ordered the safe return of my constituent Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States," Van Hollen said in the statement about the illegal immigrant. "It should be a priority of the U.S. government to secure his safe release, which is why tomorrow I am traveling to El Salvador. My hope is to visit Kilmar and check on his well-being and to hold constructive conversations with government officials around his release. We must urgently continue working to return Kilmar safely home to Maryland."
Chris Van Hollen is doing more to bring a gang-affiliated illegal alien back to the US than he did when one of his own constituents was raped and murdered by an illegal alien. https://t.co/LYT3s5nPnz
— Abigail Jackson 🇺🇸 (@abigailmarone) April 15, 2025
Van Hollen did share a statement on his website about the conviction of Victor Martinez-Hernandez, the illegal immigrant from El Salvador who raped and murdered the mother of five, but it came on Tuesday, the day after the conviction. He also couldn't be bothered to share it to his X account, and he has not posted about Morin at all by name.
"While the conviction of Rachel Morin’s killer will not return Rachel to her family where she rightfully belongs, this verdict brings a measure of justice that they so deserve. I’m grateful to the law enforcement officers who brought her killer into custody and for our legal process for delivering this justice," he began, not referencing how Martinez-Hernandez came here illegally during the Biden-Harris administration." His statement continued by trying to promote his own stance on immigration. "As I have said in the past, the American people deserve meaningful action to reform our broken immigration system, improve public safety, and strengthen our border security. We can do this while also supporting our immigrant communities and respecting the rights of individuals who are here legally – I am committed to doing both, and I will continue pressing my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to move forward on this issue," he continued.
As such a statement leaves out, though, the American people preferred now President Donald Trump by healthy margins throughout the 2024 campaign, whether he was running against then President Joe Biden or then Vice President Kamala Harris. While immigration has slipped in terms of how much importance Americans place on it in the polls, it's because the country is back to record low border crossings once more. Trump also enjoys support from the American people on how he is handling immigration.
Earlier on Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) even praised Van Hollen for his "leadership" in standing up for Abrego Garcia, as shared by Fox News' Chad Pergram.
Jeffries on Garcia: I support the efforts and leadership of Senator Chris Van Hollen, who is trying to meet with the president of El Salvador while he is here in the country. The president should accept that meeting request and have a real discussion as to when Mr. Abrego Garcia…
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) April 15, 2025
Jeffries also called for the U.S. Supreme Court to "enforce its order aggressively" which he said "should include contempt." This is not the first time that Jeffries has made such a demand.
During his Monday appearance on MSNBC's "Inside with Jen Psaki," Jeffries called for the Court to hold Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in contempt. Warren Squire covered such a ridiculous take earlier at our sister site of Twitchy.
🚨Hakeem Jeffries escalates the rhetoric: Says if the Trump administration doesn’t return the deported El Salvadoran gang member back to the US —
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) April 15, 2025
— the courts need to hold Marco Rubio and Kristi Noem in contempt.
21% is still way too high for this party. pic.twitter.com/UV66mS2Bk0
Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left's lies, new legislation wasn't needed to secure our border, just a new president.
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