Nadler Under Fire for Sleeping During Testimony on Migrant Crimes

Patty Morin, whose daughter was brutally murdered by an illegal immigrant, pleaded with lawmakers to close the border and crack down on illegal immigrants.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) is facing criticism for appearing to close his eyes and lower his head during congressional testimony on the impacts of migrant crime on victims' families. The incident occurred on Tuesday, prompting accusations that leading Democrats are not taking the issue seriously and have disrespected those in mourning.

The photo, with a box of tissues in the foreground, also shows an aide next to Nadler, looking at his cellphone as mothers who lost their daughters to suspected foreign rapists and killers shared their traumatic stories of loss with the committee.

Nadler Under Fire for Sleeping During Testimony on Migrant Crimes

Patty Morin, whose daughter Rachel was brutally raped and murdered after police say an illegal immigrant attacked her on a jogging trail near her home in Maryland, said she was horrified by Nadler's behavior. "One of the ladies that came with me, she took a picture of the Democrats on the other side as we were speaking and telling our stories, us, the mothers, mothers crying, telling our stories – and one of them is sleeping, and the other one's on his phone," she said.

Cathie Groenewold, a church friend of Morin's who took the photo, said she found Nadler's demeanor deeply offensive. "I was astounded at the careless attitude of Jerry Nadler and… the man sitting to his right," she told Fox News Digital. "They are pouring out their hearts, these women, who have lost their children to fentanyl and the most gruesome murders you could imagine, and they don’t have the common decency to sit up and give them their undivided attention."

Nadler Under Fire for Sleeping During Testimony on Migrant Crimes

Nadler and other Democrats appeared to treat the hearing as a partisan "stunt," she said. "I'm sorry, but these women are drawing attention to a serious issue," she said. "It's not a stunt, and they weren't coerced into coming."

Morin's 37-year-old daughter was a mother of five and small business owner. Her alleged killer is a 23-year-old from El Salvador named Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, who is also suspected of killing another woman in his home country and sexually assaulting a woman and her 9-year-old daughter in a Los Angeles home invasion.

Nadler Under Fire for Sleeping During Testimony on Migrant Crimes

Prosecutors have accused him of a horrific attack that left Morin with severe head trauma and covered in bruises in Bel Air, about 30 miles northeast of Baltimore. They found her remains stuffed into a culvert.

Speaking with Fox News Digital after the hearing, Patty Morin said she didn't go to be part of a partisan campaign, but she hoped to convince lawmakers to take migrant crime seriously. "This is an American issue, and if we don't do something, families are going to be devastated," she said. "I don’t want another family, or another mother, to feel the way that I feel. I can’t describe to you the pain. And it’s not like it just goes away, like time heals all things. It doesn’t. The pain stays. You just learn to live with the pain."

Nadler Under Fire for Sleeping During Testimony on Migrant Crimes

However, she said, she did not feel like her message got through to them. "It was so disheartening," she said.

Nadler's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nadler Under Fire for Sleeping During Testimony on Migrant Crimes