Patty Morin, the mother of Rachel Morin, the Harford County mom killed by a man in the country illegally, spoke at a White House press briefing Wednesday, recounting her daughter’s murder and criticizing Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s trip to El Salvador.

Morin was introduced by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said “Democrat officials still refuse to accept the will of the American people,” as she described Van Hollen’s efforts to check on the wellbeing of mistakenly deported Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

“The number one issue [Democrats] are focused on right now is bringing back this illegal alien terrorist to America,” she said, adding that Democrats haven’t celebrated historic low southern border crossings.

“Where are the Democrats when innocent Americans are victimized by illegal criminals that Joe Biden let in?” Leavitt said, calling it “appalling and sad” that Van Hollen and Democrats didn’t have empathy for their own constituents.

The press secretary referred to Abrego Garcia as a “deported illegal alien MS-13 terrorist.” She referenced the temporary restraining order issued to Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, after an incident in 2021.

Leavitt then turned the podium over to Morin, who she said wanted to tell her story. Morin then shared graphic details revealed recently at trial about the physical trauma her daughter endured during the brutal attack that led to her death on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in August 2023.

“There wasn’t one inch of her body that didn’t have some kind of injury,” Morin said.

“The jury deliberated for a little less than an hour before finding that Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez was guilty of charges including pre-meditated murder, first-degree rape, third-degree sexual assault and kidnapping,” The Baltimore Sun reported Monday.

Martinez-Hernandez is from El Salvador and entered the U.S. illegally in 2023. He is expected to serve his sentence in the United States.

“When he was sitting in the courtroom, he actually looked like he thought he was going to be set free. There was no remorse on his face at all,” Morin told the White House press pool.

“These are the kind of criminals President Trump wants to remove from our country. These are the kind of criminals that we need to remove from our country,” Morin said, adding that she was insulted by Van Hollen’s use of taxpayer money to go to El Salvador for a non-citizen.

Van Hollen’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“To have a senator from Maryland, who didn’t even acknowledge or barely acknowledged my daughter and the brutal death that she endured … so that he can use my taxpayer money to fly to El Salvador to bring back someone that’s not even an American citizen?

“Why does that person have more right than I do, or my daughter, or my grandchildren? I don’t understand this,” Morin said.

Leavitt said Abrego Garcia would be immediately deported again should he ever return to the U.S.

She said the Supreme Court ruled in the administration’s favor, interpreting the 9-0 ruling last week to mean President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio “could not be compelled to forcibly retrieve” Abrego Garcia.

“Nothing will change the fact that Abrego Garcia will never be a Maryland father,” Leavitt said. “He will never live in the United States of America again.”

Have a news tip? Contact Racquel Bazos at rbazos@baltsun.com, 443-813-0770 or on X as @rzbworks.