The mother of Rachel Morin – a Maryland mother of five, who was allegedly murdered by an illegal immigrant – blasted Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas for his depersonalization of her daughter, referring to her merely as an "individual" in a statement this week.
During a Tuesday appearance on CNN, where he was asked for his response to "critics who blame the [Biden] administration for allowing" the deaths of Americans at the hands of illegal immigrants, Mayorkas said, "First and foremost, of course our hearts break for the children, the family, the loved ones, the friends of the individual who was murdered, the woman, the mother."
Patty Morin, Rachel's mother, took aim at Mayorkas for his remarks during a Wednesday evening appearance on Fox News Channel, claiming the secretary's remarks were part of a "political statement" that made her daughter "an object."
"My reaction is that it's a completely political statement," Morin told "Ingraham Angle" host Laura Ingraham. "It totally depersonalizes her and makes her an object."
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Patty Morin also insisted that the Biden administration's decision to "categorize [Rachel] as a statistic just shows how impersonal they are, and it also shows how they don't value life."
Mayorkas refused to take blame for Morin's murder in the same interview with CNN on Tuesday, saying, "A criminal is responsible for the criminal act."
"The criminal who committed this heinous act should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law and forcefully so," Mayorkas said at the time.
Fox News Digital reached out on Thursday to the Department of Homeland Security for a response to Patty Morin's remarks and whether the department plans to reach out to the Morin family. Additionally, DHS was asked whether Mayorkas had used Morin's name in other interviews.
"The Department cannot publicly comment on an ongoing criminal investigation. That said, anyone who commits a horrific and senseless crime, like the one this individual is accused of, should be prosecuted to the fullest extent under the law. Our hearts go out to Rachel Morin’s family," a DHS spokesperson said in response.
Morin, 37, was reported missing in August by her boyfriend, who said she never returned after going out for a run on the Ma & Pa Trail, a pedestrian trail, in Bel Air, a quiet and typically safe town about 28 miles northeast of Baltimore, on August 5, 2023.
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Her body was found on a trail the following day.
Victor Martinez Hernandez, the illegal migrant suspected of murdering Morin, was arrested on June 14 after a lengthy 10-month investigation into Morin's murder. He was charged with rape and first-degree murder.
Hernandez, who has reportedly been in the U.S. since February 2023, was apprehended while "casually sitting" at a bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Police said he arrived in the states only a month after he allegedly murdered a young woman in El Salvador. His DNA was also linked to a March home invasion in Los Angeles where a mother and her nine-year-old daughter were assaulted, according to authorities.
Hernandez was extradited to Maryland on Thursday to face charges. He was scheduled to leave Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Thursday morning and arrive at Martin State Airport between 12:30 and 1 p.m., the Harford County Police Department confirmed.
Following his arrival in Maryland, the 23-year-old was taken to the Harford County Detention Center.
Fox News' Michael Lee, Bailee Hill and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
