In an interview this week, Maryland Democrat Gov. Wes Moore refused to acknowledge that President Joe Biden’s border policies played a part in the death of Rachel Morin, a mother-of-five who was allegedly raped and killed by an illegal alien.
To recap, Victor Martinez-Hernandez, 23, was arrested late Friday and charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape of Rachel Morin, 37. Morin was last seen on August 5, 2023 after going for a hike on the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland. When she never returned, she was reported missing.
The following day, authorities were alerted that a body had been discovered on the trail. It was Morin’s. Her death was determined to be a homicide. The DNA from the crime scene matched the DNA to an assault and home invasion in Los Angeles from earlier that year.
Reportedly, Martinez-Hernandez came to the United States illegally in February 2023 after he was suspected of murder in El Salvador.
"I'm infuriated, and our state is still mourning," Moore said during "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday. "This is a mother of five. Someone who had her life ahead of her. Many celebrations with her family ahead of her, and her life was cut short."
Moore pointed out that this crime occurred 1,800 miles from the southern border.
"This inaction that we continue to see to get any form of sensible immigration policy done is impacting all of us, because all of us and local jurisdictions deal with the consequences of this,” Moore said, but would not agree that Biden’s border policies contributed to Morin’s death.
"This thing is so long-standing, and there's been a lack of courage that we have seen for a long period of time in Washington that has allowed this to take place," Moore said. "There's nothing I take more seriously than public safety, but they're allowing people in my state to become victims because of a long-standing inaction that we continue to see across Congress, and we've got to move on this,” he said.
In a press conference last week, Hartford Sheriff Jeff Gahler spoke directly to Biden and to U.S. Congress.
“We are 1,800 miles from the southern border and the American citizens are not safe because of failed immigration policies. This is the second time in just two years that an innocent Hartford County woman has lost her life to a criminal in our country illegally.”
In both cases, the suspects hailed from El Salvador with ties to gangs.
“Victor Hernandez did not come here to make a better life for himself or for his family. He came here to escape the crime he committed in El Salvador. He came here and murdered Rachel. And God-willing, no one else. But that should have never been allowed to happen,” he added.
BREAKING: Harford Sheriff Gahler reveals that Rachel Morin was kiIIed by an illegal alien who fled El Salvador in 2023 after killing a woman there.
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 15, 2024
"We are 1,800 miles from the border"
The sheriff has a message for Biden: pic.twitter.com/me8pJXYXCz
In a statement to Fox News, the White House said, "We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Rachel Morin," adding that, "We cannot comment on active law enforcement cases. But fundamentally, we believe that people should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law if they are found to be guilty."