White House hosts Rachel Morin's mother amid criticism over deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Patty Morin, the mother of Rachel Morin murdered in Maryland, made a rare and emotional appearance at the White House on Wednesday. Her daughter was killed in 2023. The man found guilty recently, Victor Martinez-Hernandez, had illegally entered the United States from El Salvador.

Morin, invited as a “special guest,” addressed reporters alongside White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“Why should we allow violent criminals that have no conscience at all to murder our mothers, our sisters, our daughters?” she asked. “We are American citizens. We need to protect our families, our borders, our children.”

She also urged the press to report the truth: “Please tell the truth. Tell how violent it really is. This is about protecting our children. It’s more than just politics or votes or just anything,” she said before leaving the room.


The sudden briefing appeared to be a direct response to criticism over the mistaken deportation of another Salvadoran man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, as Leavitt began the briefing by attacking Democrats for criticising the deportation of Garcia, who had no connection to Morin’s case.

Abrego Garcia, 29, was living in Maryland with his wife and child under a special immigration status that protected him from being deported. But despite a judge’s order allowing him to remain in the United States due to fears of gang persecution in El Salvador, he was deported last month.

The Trump administration later admitted the removal was the result of an “administrative error”, but has since refused to comply with a Supreme Court directive to bring him back.