Staff Reports
Senator Chris Van Hollen’s recent trip to El Salvador has ignited a firestorm of criticism from Maryland families and citizens who are fed up with politicians putting the interests of illegal immigrants above the safety and well-being of American constituents. While Van Hollen flew across continents to advocate for Kilmar Abrego Garcia—a Salvadoran national deported amid allegations of gang ties and domestic violence—families like those of Kayla Hamilton and Rachel Morin are left wondering why their own tragedies barely registered a response from their elected representative.
The outrage from Maryland’s heartland is palpable. Kayla Hamilton, a 20-year-old with autism, was brutally raped and murdered in 2022 by Walter Martinez, an illegal immigrant and MS-13 gang member from El Salvador. Just a year later, Rachel Morin, a mother of five, was similarly murdered by another illegal immigrant from the same country. Both cases sent shockwaves through their communities and highlighted the deadly consequences of lax border enforcement and sanctuary policies. Yet, when these families needed support, Van Hollen was nowhere to be found, offering neither condolences nor meaningful action to address the root causes of these preventable crimes.
Instead, Van Hollen’s priorities have been stunningly clear: championing the cause of a deported non-citizen while Maryland families mourn. His trip to El Salvador, which was denied access to Garcia in prison, was seen by many as a tone-deaf political stunt. The senator’s insistence on “fighting” for Garcia’s return, rather than standing with victims’ families or demanding accountability for the policy failures that let violent criminals enter and remain in the U.S., speaks volumes about the current state of leadership in blue states.
The frustration is echoed by the victims’ families themselves. Both Tammy Nobles, Kayla Hamilton’s mother, and Patty Morin, Rachel Morin’s mother, have publicly condemned Van Hollen’s actions. They rightly question why their daughters’ lives were not worth a fraction of the attention and taxpayer resources spent on a foreign national with a checkered past. Their anger is not just personal—it is a reflection of a growing national sentiment that American safety should come before political grandstanding and virtue signaling.
This entire episode underscores a broader crisis: politicians who are more concerned about the rights of illegal immigrants and the optics of “compassion” than about the basic duty of protecting their citizens. While Van Hollen and his allies jet-set abroad, Marylanders are left to pick up the pieces from tragedies that should never have happened. If our elected officials can’t prioritize the safety and security of American families, then perhaps it’s time for voters to demand new leadership—leadership that puts America first, enforces the law, and stands with victims rather than criminals.
