The Salvador man was found guilty of first-degree planned murder, first-degree rape, third-degree sex offences and temptation.
The Trump administration invited the mother of a Maryland woman killed by illegal immigrants to address reporters at a press conference at the White House on April 16th.
Patti Morin’s daughter, Rachel Morin, was killed in 2023 by Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, 24, and a Salvador man who illegally entered the country in 2023 was killed, authorities said.
The mother of the murdered woman called for immediate action to protect communities around the country.
“We are American citizens. Why should we allow these people, violent criminals without conscience, and allow them to kill their mothers, sisters and daughters?” Morin said.
“This is about protecting our children.”
On Monday, Martinez Hernandez was found guilty of first-degree planned murder, first-degree rape, third-degree sex offences and temptation.
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Rachel Morin, the 37-year-old mother of five, went missing in August 2023 on a popular hiking trail in Bel Air, Maryland, northeast of Baltimore.
During a press conference Wednesday, Patty Morin said their families had walked the same path for 25 years.
“It’s a safe place for our family,” she said. “That’s where we go to get a little bit of New England.”
The heartbroken mother shared graphic details about her daughter’s murder and the violent attacks that precede it.
“There was no inch of her body that didn’t get any kind of injury,” Morin said.
She then suggested that deporting illegal immigrants is common sense.
“These are the kind of criminals we need to remove from our country,” the mother said.
“It’s not that it’s political…we have to see it because we are American citizens. We need to protect our families, our borders, our children.”
The incident was a flash point in President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, and the president began his second term with an aggressive approach to deporting violent criminals.
His administration has repeatedly vowed to target the “worst and worst” for immediate deportation.
Some lawmakers critical of the ongoing massive deportation have raised concerns about a legitimate process, among other issues.
White House officials and Morin denounced Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) for visiting El Salvador on Wednesday, demanding a meeting with 29-year-old Kilmer Abrego Garcia.
“Why does he have more rights than me, is he a daughter or my grandson?” Morin said. “I don’t understand this.”
Van Hollen demanded his release, claiming that El Salvador had not given him any evidence that Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 or that he had committed a crime in which Salvadoran citizens were detained in the terrorist confinement center in Central America, the largest security prison.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Lewitt asked Van Hollen “we could “require the release of illegal MS-13 gang member terrorists who have been deported (a) using taxpayer dollars.”
