(The Center Square) – A Texas congresswoman is under fire after saying Angel moms who testified about how their children were brutally murdered by criminal illegal border crossers released into the U.S. were “being exploited for political purposes.”

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from El Paso, Texas, made the remarks at a U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing after mothers described how their children were murdered because of Biden-Harris administration border policies.

Escobar initially expressed her condolences as a mother of two children. “I cannot imagine the grief of losing a loved one in such a tragic way,” she said. “I want you to know how much I respect the courage that it took for you to be here today, to share your grief and your pain.”

She also said she is “the only member of this committee who actually lives on the border, raised her kids on the border,” as a third-generation border resident. Other committee members are border residents of Arizona, California and Texas.

Escobar next accused her Republican colleagues of “exploiting people’s pain for political purposes. Unfortunately, that’s what’s happening today. The finger pointing at the administration by members of Congress is frustrating … because we are the ones who write the laws.”

Her Republican colleagues, and at least half of U.S. attorneys general who’ve sued the administration, argue the border crisis was created by the Biden-Harris administration breaking laws established by Congress. If existing federal laws were followed, millions of illegal border crossers wouldn’t have been released into the U.S. but would have been deported.

April Aguirre, a victim’s advocate in Houston and U.S. Air Force veteran, lashed out, pointing to Escobar saying, “It’s insulting that you would say that to these families, that you would make an assumption that they’re being used or exploited anyway.

“I’d like a phone call from you to see what you can do to help these families because every single week I get bombarded with calls from victims all over the United States.”

Aguirre also said that when helping victims’ families “navigate the criminal justice system, not one Democrat called me to offer their assistance. It was only Republicans.”

She said that she is an independent and votes “both ways. So, it’s insulting,” but got cut off by Escobar, who interrupted her.

“Please don’t speak over me. I’m still talking. I have the floor,” Aguirre said. Escobar kept talking. “If you want to answer me, you ask for time,” Aguirre said, pointing to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who intervened.

Pointing to Escobar, Aguirre said, “It’s insulting these people lost loved ones. They lost children. I assure you that we’re not being used in any way.”

Other Angel moms said they “do not feel exploited” and criticized Democrats for not asking them a single question.

Angel mom Anne Fundner said, “I’m getting tired of hearing about the most comprehensive border bill,” referring to Democrats claiming a Senate border bill would have solved the border crisis. Senate Democrats didn’t support it, and the bill doesn’t do what it purports to do, The Center Square reported.

“The bill did zero for American citizens,” Fundner said. “I would love for somebody to [to tell] me what it actually did for American citizens.”

Several of the Angel moms’ children were killed by Venezuelans after they illegally entered the country and were released by federal agents solely due to Biden-Harris administration policies. They went on to brutally rape and strangle to death teenagers and young adult women in Texas, Maryland and other states, The Center Square reported.

Many Venezuelan illegal border crossers who’ve been arrested for committing violent crimes are directly linked to a parole program created by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, including violent prison gang Tren De Aragua, whose members are taking over apartment complexes and hotels nationwide. Multiple state attorneys general sued to stop it; House Republicans impeached Mayorkas, arguing it and other programs he created to usher in millions of illegal border crossers are illegal.

Escobar’s remarks were no surprise to Republican El Paso native Irene Armendariz-Jackson, who is challenging her in the Texas District 16 congressional race.

“Escobar’s comments to the Angel moms were degrading and lacked empathy for the American mothers who have had to bury their children because an illegal alien has murdered them,” she told The Center Square.

Escobar, first elected in 2018, has championed Biden-Harris border policies. “She has continuously expressed her support for illegal aliens no matter what the American human cost is,” Armendariz-Jackson said. “I sounded the alarm over 4 years ago, warning America that these illegals coming in through El Paso were not going to stay here and we would start hearing of Americans being killed by illegals.

“As the wife of a retired Border Patrol agent, I know the devastation and danger that comes from open borders and as a native of El Paso, I see what our city has turned into. I’m running to unseat the most radical and dangerous member of Congress.”