Family of mother allegedly raped and killed by illegal immigrant accepts Trump’s invitation to RNC

The family of Rachel Morin, a mother of five who was allegedly raped and killed by an illegal immigrant, have accepted an invitation from former President Donald Trump to attend the upcoming Republican National Convention.

Morin’s family — including her half-sister, her two youngest children, her three brothers and a number of other relatives — will attend the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee next week, according to the Baltimore Sun. Morin’s half-sister Erin Layman is scheduled to speak at Tuesday night’s event about Rachel and the immigration policies surrounding her death. (RELATED TOPIC: Biden’s illegal immigration problem has worsened due to high-profile murders in the US)

“This is a great honor because I want to make a difference in Rachel’s name,” Layman said, according to the Baltimore Sun. “I want to honor Rachel in all of this and make sure people know our story and see our family together.”

Morin’s death attracted widespread attention last month when her suspected killer was discovered to be living in the United States illegally.

TAMPA, FL – AUGUST 27: RNC Chairman Reince Priebus bangs the gavel on the floor to open the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on August 27, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Morin, a 37-year-old mother of five from Maryland, was raped and murdered on a hiking trail in August 2023. In June, law enforcement in Oklahoma finally caught Salvadoran citizen Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez and charged him with Morin’s death.

Authorities confirmed at the time that Martinez-Hernandez was also wanted in his home country for the murder of a woman and had entered the United States illegally before allegedly killing Morin.

This is not the first time Trump has reached out to Morin’s family. Rachel Morin’s mother, Patty Morin, said last month she was “deeply touched” when the former president called her to offer his condolences. She said Trump’s words “brought me comfort during this very difficult time.”

Morin’s family welcomes the publicity that her death has brought and believes her story can contribute to positive change and help prevent similar cases from happening again.

“There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Rachels across America, so we need to do our part to hopefully make a difference,” Josh Morin explained, according to the Baltimore Sun. “This is 100% political, because politics created this problem, and politics will solve it.”

During the election campaign, Trump prominently highlighted and established contacts with other “angel families” – families whose members were killed by illegal immigrants.

The former president introduced Laken Riley’s family at a campaign rally in Georgia in March, about a month after she was allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant while jogging on the University of Georgia campus. Just before taking the debate stage against President Joe Biden last month, he called the mother of Jocelyn Nungaray, the 12-year-old who was allegedly sexually assaulted and killed by two illegal immigrants.

Trump has given a platform to illegal immigrants and their families over the years. While speaking to the National Border Patrol Council in February 2020, then-President Trump took time to honor Daria Ortiz, the granddaughter of a 92-year-old woman who was raped and murdered by an illegal immigrant in New York.

The Trump team did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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