I’ve often said, “Liberals are liberals first.” Their ideology is more important than anything else. A heartbreaking op-ed in Monday’s New York Times proves the point.

Andy Ostroy tells readers that in 2006, his wife Adrienne, an actor and young mother, was brutally murdered by a 19-year-old Ecuadorian construction worker. Who was in the U.S. illegally.

According to news reports at the time, the murderer said he killed Adrienne because he had struck her during an argument about construction noise, and he was afraid he’d be deported if she reported it. So he hanged her.

Fast forward to this week. Ostroy used his wife’s murder to launch into a liberal rant against Donald Trump. Ostroy calls Trump a “xenophobic agitator.” Why? Because Trump said “We’ve got some bad hombres” who’ve got to go.

Ostroy claims:  “Adrienne was not murdered by an illegal immigrant, per se. She fell victim to a depraved killer who simply happened to be an undocumented immigrant.” He says that’s an “important distinction” as we go “down the dangerous path of demonizing those not born here.”

Look. Mr. Ostroy has the right to his views. I have no desire to criticize him “per se,” given the horror his family experienced. But calling an “illegal immigrant” an “illegal immigrant” isn’t demonizing anybody. It’s a definition.

And yes. Some illegal immigrants are “bad hombres.” Sadly, Mr. Ostroy’s wife, like too many others, are among their victims. But liberalism must survive, and therefore, she is in second place in the story.