Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is facing mounting criticism over what opponents describe as a striking double standard—actively pushing for the return of a deported illegal immigrant from El Salvador while staying largely silent on the high-profile murder of Maryland mother Rachel Morin, allegedly committed by another illegal immigrant from the same country.
On Monday, Van Hollen said he requested a meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to discuss the extradition of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident currently held in one of El Salvador’s high-security prisons. The senator added that he might travel to El Salvador this week if the issue remains unresolved. “Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia never should have been abducted and illegally deported, and the courts have made clear: the Administration must bring him home, now,” Van Hollen said in a statement Monday. “However, since the Trump Administration appears to be ignoring these court mandates, we need to take additional action.”
“That’s why I’ve requested to meet with President Bukele during his trip to the United States, and – if Kilmar is not home by midweek – I plan to travel to El Salvador this week to check on his condition and discuss his release,” he added. Van Hollen has denounced the deportation as “a clear violation of the law” and is pressing for swift corrective action. However, his renewed urgency has reignited frustration among many Marylanders still grieving the loss of Rachel Morin.
Morin, a 37-year-old mother of five, was raped and murdered in August 2023 while jogging along the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air, Maryland. Her body was later found hidden in a culvert. Investigators ultimately tied the crime to Victor Martinez-Hernandez, a 24-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador. He was arrested nearly a year later, identified through DNA evidence and surveillance footage, and was convicted on Monday of first-degree murder, rape, and kidnapping.
Van Hollen’s response to the Morin case was far more muted. After Martinez-Hernandez’s arrest, the senator issued a short written statement: “My heart breaks for the Morin family.” He went on to say “they deserve action” and the well-worn Democrat lie that “our immigration system is broken.” He went on to blame Republicans for stalling ‘reforms’ after then-President Joe Biden allowed, by some estimates, more than 11 million people into the country illegally during his term, which Holland never criticized.