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While Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador to pay a visit to a deported illegal alien, a grieving mother said she's never been contacted by the Maryland lawmaker after an illegal immigrant murdered her daughter.
Patty Morin, the mother of Rachel Morin, spoke out against Van Hollen's visit, grilling the Maryland senator for going to El Salvador "to advocate for a criminal" instead of advocating for "victims of horrific, brutal crimes by illegal immigrants," including her daughter.
"It just shows his character. You know a man by the words that he speaks, but also by his actions or lack of actions," Patty Morin said Friday on "The Ingraham Angle."
Although it's been over a year since Rachel Morin was murdered, her mother claimed she's had "no interaction" with Van Hollen. She remains open to taking a call from the Maryland senator.
"I would be gracious and take the call. I don't know that it would make a difference," Patty Morin told Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo. "I think if he did make the effort to call, it would just be, like, a political stunt to say he did it."
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Van Hollen released the following statement Tuesday regarding the conviction of Rachel Morin's killer:
"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. 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."
Van Hollen flew to El Salvador this week to meet with deported illegal alien Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and his request was finally granted on Thursday.
"I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar," Van Hollen said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return."
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Garcia, a 29-year-old illegal immigrant living in Maryland, was deported to the El Salvadoran megaprison "Terrorism Confinement Center" (CECOT) in March.
Officials acknowledged in court his deportation was an administrative error, although now some top Trump officials say he was correctly removed and contend he's a member of the notorious MS-13 gang.
Both a federal district court and the U.S. Supreme Court have ordered the Trump administration to "facilitate" his release and return to the United States for proper deportation proceedings.
Newly-released documents from the Trump administration also revealed domestic violence allegations against Garcia.
On Wednesday, his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura put out a statement addressing the domestic violence allegations:
"After surviving domestic violence in a previous relationship, I acted out of caution following a disagreement with Kilmar by seeking a civil protective order, in case things escalated. Things did not escalate, and I decided not to follow through with the civil court process. We were able to work through the situation privately as a family, including by going to counseling."
Patty Morin criticized Van Hollen for using her "taxpayer money to fly to El Salvador to advocate for a criminal."
"A criminal, as in he's here illegally, so he's already broken federal law about being in the country illegally," she continued.
Van Hollen's office did not reply to Fox News Digital's request for comment as of press time. It also did not answer whether Van Hollen would call Patty Morin or clarify who funded the senator's trip to El Salvador.
Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner, Alexa Moutevelis and Alexander Hall contributed to this report.
Madeline Coggins is a Digital Production Assistant on the Fox News flash team with Fox News Digital.