During testimony from mothers of migrant crime victims, Rep. Nadler was seen with his head down and eyes closed.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., is facing criticism after he appeared to close his eyes and lower his head during congressional testimony on the impacts of migrant crime on victims' families Tuesday, suggesting that leading Democrats are not taking the issue seriously and have disrespected those in mourning.

The House Judiciary Committee ranking member was criticized by Reps. Chip Roy and Dan Bishop following the incident, causing outrage among the audience.

Nadler, surrounded by an aide and a box of tissues, listened to mothers recount their traumatic experiences of losing their daughters to suspected foreign rapists and killers as they shared their stories with the committee.

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, stated that one of the ladies who accompanied her took a picture of the Democrats on the other side as they were speaking and telling their stories, us, the mothers, mothers crying, telling our stories – and one of them is sleeping, and the other one's on his phone.

Nadler's demeanor was deeply offensive to Cathie Groenewold, a church friend of Morin's who took the photo.

"The woman told Planet Chronicle Digital that she was astonished by the careless attitude of Jerry Nadler and the man sitting to his right. She expressed her disbelief that these women, who had lost their children to fentanyl and gruesome murders, did not show the common decency to give them their full attention while pouring out their hearts."

She stated that Nadler and other Democrats seemed to view the hearing as a "stunt" with partisan undertones.

"She stated that the women were not performing a stunt and were not forced to attend."

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.

In Bel Air, about 30 miles northeast of Baltimore, Morin suffered severe head trauma and bruises as a result of a horrific attack that prosecutors have accused him of. Her remains were later discovered stuffed into a culvert.

In an interview with Planet Chronicle Digital following the hearing, Patty Morin stated that her purpose for attending was not to participate in a partisan campaign, but rather to urge lawmakers to take migrant crime more seriously.

"This is a problem that affects American families, and if we don't act, it will lead to devastation," she stated. "I don't want any more families or mothers to experience the same pain that I have. I can't put into words how much it hurts. It doesn't go away with time, like all wounds do. The pain stays. You learn to cope with it."

She stated that she didn't believe her message was conveyed to them.

"It was so disheartening," she said.

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

The New York congressman commenced the hearing by expressing his sympathies to the witnesses.

"I can't fathom how challenging this loss has been for you," he remarked.

He shifted his focus to labeling the proceedings as "another partisan hearing aimed at dividing us and gaining political points prior to an election."

Four of the eight witnesses had children who were affected by the border crisis.

Anne Fundner, whose son Weston died of fentanyl poisoning that she blames on Mexican drug cartels and Chinese chemicals able to freely cross the southern border, sat to the left of Morin.

"The committee was informed by the mother that her son's life was cut short due to political decisions made by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, those in positions of authority."

In a hearing on open-border crime, Jocelyn Nungaray's mother discloses a harrowing sequence of events leading up to her daughter's murder.

According to authorities, Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl, was strangled, tied up, and sexually assaulted before being thrown off a bridge by her mother, Alexis Nungaray, who was on Morin's right.

Two illegals from Venezuela have been charged with capital murder in that case.

"The Biden-Harris administration's open border policies and catch and release led to the enrollment of the individuals in the Alternatives to Detention program, resulting in their release into the United States. Tragically, just three weeks later, they would take the life of Jocelyn Nungaray's daughter."

In 2020, an MS-13 member who entered the U.S. illegally was found guilty of murdering Tammy Nobles' daughter, Kayla Hamilton, who was strangled and sexually assaulted in her own bed.

Walter Javier Martinez, the suspect in that case, is currently serving a 70-year prison sentence for committing four murders and two rapes, as confessed in writing.

"This is not a political matter, but a safety concern that affects everyone residing in the United States," she stated to the committee. "Kayla's life was endangered, and numerous other children and adults were also at risk."