The mother of Rachel Morin, the 37-year-old mother of five who was murdered while hiking in Maryland, praised House legislators for passing the Laken Riley Act in an interview with Newsmax on Wednesday.
The bill, named after the Georgia nursing student killed by a Venezuelan man who entered the U.S. illegally, would require that undocumented immigrants who are charged with theft or burglary be detained.
The alleged killer of Rachel Morin, Victor Martinez Hernandez, reportedly entered the U.S. illegally in early 2023 while fleeing an arrest warrant for the murder of a woman in his home country of El Salvador.
Patty Morin told "Wake Up America" on Wednesday that she's "so happy" about the bill's passing but noted that she was "a little bit surprised" that more than 150 legislators voted against it.
"To be honest, I am so happy because it shows that President[-elect Donald] Trump and the Republicans are sticking to their word that they gave the American people, and they're going to do everything they can to secure our borders and to protect us."
She added, "So I am so very encouraged by this bill passing, and I'm a little bit surprised by the 159 who voted against it. You would think they would want to protect the constituents that put them into office. So that surprised me that it wasn't more of a majority and more of a bipartisan on both sides of the aisle."
When asked what her message would be to the outgoing administration, Morin said, "I would say stop trying to sabotage the things that the American people have voted for and want."
She continued, "The American people want security at the border. They want to know that they can rest in their homes and not fear for their lives if they walk down a trail or a sidewalk."
Morin also said that the Biden administration should "help President Trump to do the mandate that the American people have asked him to do and have tasked him with, instead of doing everything you can to hinder him."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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