A year before Rachel Morin was killed at the hands of another suspected immigrant, the mother of a young woman killed by an immigrant gang member in Maryland sent a message to President Biden: “Secure the border.”
Tammy Nobles, whose 20-year-old daughter was raped and strangled to death in 2022, told The Washington Post on Monday that she blames the federal government’s lax border policies for the unimaginable tragedy her family and Maureen’s loved ones have experienced.
“This is happening because the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services are not doing their jobs and other agencies with power, like the police and the government, are not doing anything to stop this,” Nobles said in an interview.
“And Biden has done nothing to prevent these crimes. He’s the one who welcomes illegal immigration.”
“Federal and local government agencies need to take responsibility and put the American people first, not last. Our safety has not been a priority.”
Protests over the country’s porous border have grown in recent days following the arrest Friday of Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, 23, an alleged Salvadoran gang member, for allegedly raping and killing Morin, 37, on a Maryland hiking trail last August.
Martinez-Hernandez, who entered the U.S. illegally, is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape in her death.
The horrific crime came a year after Nobles’ daughter, Kayla Hamilton, was murdered in her trailer by a 17-year-old MS-13 gang member, also from El Salvador.
The boy, who was arrested in January 2023 and charged with first-degree murder, is alleged to have subrented a house from another illegal immigrant and lived with the victim.
“I am so saddened that something like this has happened again and I understand what Rachel’s mother and family are going through and the nightmare they have to endure every day,” Nobles said of Maureen’s murder.
Her grieving mother filed a $100 million lawsuit against the federal government earlier this year, alleging that authorities failed to properly vet her daughter’s suspected killer before allowing him into the country.
Meanwhile, authorities said Morin’s suspected killer was already wanted for an earlier murder in El Salvador and a subsequent assault on a mother and girl in Los Angeles.
“My message to Biden is to close the border, begin vetting and background checks for all illegal immigrants, and begin processing those who entered legally,” Nobles said.
“We can’t continue to let everyone into the country without proper screening and background checks.”
She said she was speaking out on behalf of her murdered daughter and other victims to “try to prevent tragedies like those of Kayla and Rachel.”
