Trump Speaks Out After Illegal Immigrant Arrested for Rachel Morin's Death
Former President Donald Trump gives the keynote address at Turning Point Action's "The People's Convention" on June 15, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. Following the arrest of an undocumented migrant on Friday for the murder of Rachel Morin in Maryland last year, Trump has spoken out on Monday condemning the murder.
Following the arrest of an undocumented migrant on Friday for the murder of Rachel Morin in Maryland last year, former president Donald Trump spoke out on Monday, condemning the murder and immigration policies.
According to Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler on Saturday, Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, a 23-year-old from El Salvador and the suspect in the homicide of Morin, was arrested on Friday at a bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Harford County law enforcement was authorized to extradite him to Maryland. While the extradition can take up to 10 days or more, Martinez-Hernandez is currently being held without bond in a Tulsa County jail with a hold from Maryland to face charges in Morin's death and a detainer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Morin, a 37-year-old mother of five, was initially reported missing by her boyfriend on August 5, 2023, when she didn't return from a walk at the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, according to the Harford County Sheriff's Office. Her body was found the following day and a homicide investigation was launched.
On Monday, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to respond to the arrest of Hernandez as he condemned the murder and took aim at President Joe Biden for his immigration policies.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump's spokesperson and the White House via email for comment.
"ANOTHER one of Crooked Joe Biden's Illegal Immigrant Criminals was just charged with raping and murdering ANOTHER innocent American woman! Rachel Morin was on a run in Maryland, just like Laken Riley was in Georgia, when she was brutally killed by an illegal monster who was wanted for murder in El Salvador and fled to the USA because he knew Crooked Joe would let him in," Trump wrote.
Trump added: "On day one, we will SHUT DOWN THE BORDER and start deporting millions of Biden's Illegal Criminals. We will once again put AMERICANS First and MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN! To Rachel Morin's family and especially her 5 children, May God be with you!"
According to officials, Martinez-Hernandez is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape in Morin's death after his DNA was found at the scene.
In addition, CBS News reports that Martinez-Hernandez is believed to have crossed the U.S. border in February 2023 after his name appeared on an arrest warrant in El Salvador on charges he had killed a young woman.
Trump's comments come as immigration is among the top issues ahead of the 2024 presidential election as Trump and Biden have clinched the nominations of the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively, with polls reflecting doubt over Biden's border policies, Trump has pledged tougher policies to launch the largest domestic deportation operation in U.S. history.
Biden continues to face bipartisan criticism on the issue, as the country experiences heightened levels of migrant border crossings. There were more than 2.4 million encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2023 fiscal year, up from roughly 1.7 million in 2021, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.
Republicans say the uptick in migrants is a direct result of Biden's border policies, which, they argue, incentivize illegal immigration. Other experts have said various factors, including political and financial instability in some Central American countries, drive migration to the U.S.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time Trump has taken aim at Biden for immigration, connecting it to the death of another woman.
In March, while speaking at a rally in Rome, Georgia, Trump lashed out at Biden over the death of Laken Riley, a nursing student whose body was found in a wooded area near the University of Georgia in February. Police have charged Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old migrant from Venezuela, in the 22-year-old nursing student's slaying.
"Laken Riley would be alive today if Joe Biden had not willfully and maliciously eviscerated the borders of the United States and set loose thousands and thousands of dangerous criminals into our country," Trump said. "To her family tonight. I promise you I will demand justice for Laken. Justice for Laken."
Meanwhile, Biden has since spoken about the death of Laken during his State of the Union address in March.
"Laken Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That's right. But how many thousands of people being killed by legals? To her parents, I say, my heart goes out to you, having lost children myself. I understand," Biden said.
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