White House Photo Lays Bare Political Divide on Immigration After Abrego Garcia Deportation

The White House is making no secret of where the two major parties stand on illegal immigration, dropping a splitscreen photo that says it all—without saying a word.

On one side, the image shows Angel Mom Patty Morin in the Oval Office, visibly grieving as President Trump consoles her. Morin's daughter, Rachel, was brutally killed in Maryland in 2023 by an illegal migrant from El Salvador. The pain in that photo is almost palpable, and you can practically feel the political message emanating from it.

On the flip side, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., is pictured meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old deported illegal immigrant, in El Salvador. Abrego Garcia was removed from the U.S. by the Trump administration last month, with officials claiming he was a member of the MS-13 gang and had assaulted his wife. Van Hollen, calling the deportation "absolutely unjust," actually traveled to El Salvador to advocate for Garcia's release—a move that’s got plenty of people talking.

The White House’s blunt caption: "We are not the same," directly tagged Van Hollen. If there was any confusion about where the administration stands, this photo-op cleared it right up.

Painfully, Morin pointed out that Van Hollen, who represents Maryland, never once reached out to her after her daughter’s murder. Instead, she said, he used taxpayer funds to fly to El Salvador in support of someone she feels should not be prioritized over American victims. As she put it, "Why does that person have more right than I do for my daughter or my grandchildren? I don’t understand this." The frustration is as raw as it gets, and you can’t help but feel the sting.

Rachel Morin’s killer, Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, reportedly had a violent past in his home country and was linked to a home invasion in Los Angeles prior to the Maryland murder. After his conviction, Van Hollen vowed to work for both border security and immigrant support—a tightrope act if there ever was one.

Van Hollen’s trip to El Salvador wasn’t exactly smooth. He was denied meetings several times before finally getting to speak with Abrego Garcia, later sharing that he passed along a message of love to Garcia’s wife. Van Hollen has continued to argue that Garcia’s detention in El Salvador is unjust and illegal, insisting that the man—who lived in Maryland with his family—was deported due to an administrative error, not criminal ties. Trump officials, meanwhile, have doubled down on their claim that Garcia’s removal was justified because of gang affiliations.

Despite a federal court and the Supreme Court ordering the Trump administration to facilitate Garcia’s return for proper proceedings, Attorney General Pam Bondi stated bluntly that he won’t be coming back to the U.S.—unless El Salvador changes its mind.

Between the grief of families like the Morins and the political theater unfolding in both Washington and El Salvador, this story is a tough reminder of just how personal—and polarized—the immigration debate has become. The White House isn’t just talking about differences anymore; it’s putting them on full display.