You could have heard a pin drop in the press room at the White House.
Patty Morin was there to share her story, one no mother should ever have to tell.
Her daughter Rachel, a mother-of-five from Maryland, was brutally raped and murdered in 2023.
Patty’s graphic account of Rachel’s death was heartrending – enough to silence the most seasoned of journalists.
“Why should we allow people like this, violent criminals that have no conscience at all to murder our mothers, our sisters, our daughters?” she asked.
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That’s a valid question and it is one being asked by many Americans who support US President Donald Trump’s policy of mass deportations.
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The White House understands the power of such a courageous, personal testimony.
Press Secretary Karoline Levitt had flagged the briefing “with a special guest” two hours earlier.
Afterwards, she invited questions from journalists in the room and then refused to take any.
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By drawing a direct connection between this crime and immigration policy, the administration was framing deportations as necessary to protect American lives.
Even the deportation of Kimar Albrega Garcia, who they admit was sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador due to “administrative error”.
Leveraging a mother’s tragic story to justify the removal of Garcia disregards the context, such as his lack of criminal conviction.
The Supreme Court has ordered the US government to facilitate his return, but the White House says it is not compelled to do so.
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The Trump administration alleges he’s a member of the MS-13 criminal gang and will not be returning to Maryland, but there has been no due process.
On Monday, Victor Martinez-Hernandez, 24, a fugitive from El Salvador, was convicted of raping and murdering Rachel Morin.
Justice has been done in one case, but there is resistance to it in another.
And Patty Morin’s unthinkable loss is a compelling reminder that justice matters.
