Trump Admin uses Rachel Morin verdict to slam Abrego-Garcia controversy on X

BALTIMORE — A pair of high profile immigration related cases have placed Maryland in the national spotlight.

On Monday a Harford County jury took less than an hour to convict Victor Martinez-Hernandez of Rachel Morin's rape and murder.

The Salvadoran native killed the mother of five back in August 2023, along the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air.

Hernandez was in the U.S. illegally, despite being expelled from the country on three prior occasions.

Investigators tied Hernandez to Morin's death utilizing advanced DNA technology, before tracking him down in Oklahoma.

He's also suspected of a home invasion in Los Angeles and murder in El Salvador.

Morin's death served as a rallying cry for President Donald Trump's campaign cracking down on illegal immigration.

SEE ALSO: Rachel Morin's alleged killer argues being subjected to "nationwide public hatred and vilification"

After learning of Hernandez's conviction, Trump took to his Truth Social to blast the prior Biden Administration's immigration policies.

While doing so, Trump slammed an ongoing controversial case involving Kilmar Armando Abrego-Garcia, an undocumented Salvadoran man, who the White House claims is a member of the murderous MS-13 gang.

Last month ICE agents arrested Abrego-Garcia in Baltimore, where he lived with his wife and child, both of whom are American citizens.

Due to his alleged gang ties, Abrego-Garcia was deported to a notorious Salvadoran prison, even though an immigration judge previously barred his return there over potential safety concerns.

Abrego-Garcia has repeatedly denied being associated with any gang.

RELATED: Deadline looms for U.S. to return undocumented migrant deported to El Salvador

The case drew national attention leading to lawsuits, that have reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

For now Abrego-Garcia remains jailed in his home country, this after the justices ordered Trump and company to facilitate his release.

The Trump Administration argues the Supreme Court ruling doesn't necessarily require Abrego-Garcia's return to the U.S., considering the fact he had final removal orders, excluding El Salvador.

During a Monday visit to the White House, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele indicated he would not release Abrego-Garcia from custody.

MORE: Protestors call for Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return after El Salvador President says he won't send him back

While admitting it was in error to send Abrego-Garcia back to El Salvador, Trump and company defended their decision to ban him from the country.

Many cabinet members echoed Trump's sentiments by bringing attention to Morin's murder, as a way of justifying Abrego-Garcia's expulsion.

"Rachel Morin’s killer was found guilty for her brutal murder. This criminal illegal alien should have never been in our country in the first place," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on X, (formerly Twitter). "Rachel should still be here watching her five children grow up. She was a victim of open border policies that prioritized illegal aliens over the safety of American citizens. We hear far too much in the mainstream media about sob stories of gang members and criminal illegals and not enough about their victims."

Homeland Security's official X account added "Kilmar Abrego Garcia is not a “Maryland Man," he is an MS-13 gang member involved in human trafficking who entered the United States illegally. His deportation to El Salvador was always going to be the end result."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt chimed in saying "Democrats care more about a deported Maryland father illegal alien terrorist than a Maryland mother and American citizen named Rachel Morin who was brutally murdered at the hands of an illegal alien. It’s despicable."

Attorney General Pamela Bondi then piled on posting "This is not a “Maryland man” this is an illegal alien from El Salvador whom two judges have ruled is part of MS-13, a foreign terrorist organization. El Salvador doesn’t want to give him back—nor do we want him back."

Meanwhile, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen is planning on flying to El Salvador with hopes of visiting Abrego Garcia in prison and securing his release.

“Following his abduction and unlawful deportation, U.S. federal courts have ordered the safe return of my constituent Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States. It should be a priority of the U.S. government to secure his safe release, which is why tomorrow I am traveling to El Salvador. My hope is to visit Kilmar and check on his wellbeing and to hold constructive conversations with government officials around his release. We must urgently continue working to return Kilmar safely home to Maryland.”

Van Hollen and other Democratic leaders have accused the administration of abducting Abrego-Garcia, joining other lawmakers and activists in nationwide protests.

The Senator's announcement drew the ire of Senior White House Adviser Stephen Miller.

"[Senator Van Hollen] seems to be under the very confused impression that this MS-13 terrorist is his constituent," Miller stated on X. "He is President Nayib Bukele's constituent… He is not a “Maryland man," he is not a Maryland anything. He is an illegal alien from El Salvador with a deportation order from the United States.”

On Wednesday the White House followed that up issuing what they called a "tiny sample of the criminal illegal immigrants arrested by ICE in Maryland in recent days," followed by a question for Van Hollen, asking "Where was his concern for Maryland constituents put at risk by the many other illegal immigrants allowed to roam free until now?"

The release listed the names of three undocumented Salvadoran citizens, with prior criminal records, living in Maryland, along with two Venezuelan nationals, and a pair of Guatemalan natives.

Nonetheless Abrego-Garcia's case appears long from over, as on Tuesday a federal judge in Maryland ordered Trump officials to provide sworn depositions on efforts to return him to the U.S.

So far they've remained defiant.