‘Mind-Boggling’: White House Slams Dems As Senator Threatens El Salvador Trip For MS-13 Suspect

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday “it’s mind-boggling” how far Democrats are going to defend accused illegal immigrant gang members over American citizens.

During the White House press briefing, a reporter asked Leavitt for a response to the “priorities” of Senate Democrats on the illegal immigration issue after noting how Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) announced plans to travel to El Salvador later this week if Kilmar Abrego Garcia — an alleged MS-13 gang member who was detained last month in Maryland, deported, and sent to a prison in his home country of El Salvador — is not returned to the United States.

.@PressSec on Democrats prioritizing criminal illegal alien criminals over American citizens: "It's mind-boggling." pic.twitter.com/MavhBwf6nd

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 15, 2025

“It’s mind-boggling, the priorities of the modern-day Democratic Party. I think it’s atrocious that to have Democrats in Congress on Capitol Hill, who swear an oath to protect their constituents and to serve them in Washington, D.C., spending more time defending illegal immigrant gang members than their own constituents and law-abiding American citizens like Rachel Morin,” Leavitt said.

Morin, a 37-year-old Maryland mother of five, was found dead in August 2023 after she went out to exercise on a hiking trail. Earlier this week, Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez — who has been identified as an illegal immigrant from El Salvador — was convicted of raping and murdering Morin.

Leavitt said that she witnessed President Donald Trump “personally on the campaign trail, and I continue to see him in his role as president of the United States, put American families first, reach out to the families of victims at the hands of illegal immigrant crime.”

She added, “Frankly, the actions and the words of the Democrat Party prove they could not care less about the American public. And maybe if they did, they’d see a bit higher approval ratings right now.”

Van Hollen issued his ultimatum on Monday, saying that he requested to speak with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, during his trip this week to the United States, and declaring that he planned to travel to El Salvador this week to check on Garcia’s condition and discuss his release if Garcia is “not home by midweek.”

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. “However, since the Trump Administration appears to be ignoring these court mandates, we need to take additional action.”

The Trump administration has accused Garcia, who illegally entered the United States but got permission to stay in 2019, of being an MS-13 gang member. Garcia’s attorneys have reportedly denied that their client is a member of MS-13. On Monday, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller dismissed claims that Garcia was deported by mistake and contended that the withholding order the suspect received six years ago is no longer valid because the Trump administration has designated MS-13 as a foreign terror organization.

Last week, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that said the government must “facilitate,” but not necessarily “effectuate,” Garcia’s return as the legal battle over his removal continues. While meeting Trump at the White House on Monday, Bukele said that he would not send Garcia back. “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?” Bukele said to reporters, adding, “I don’t have the power to return him.”