Patty Morin, whose daughter Rachel was killed by an illegal immigrant, said the media’s focus on President Donald Trump’s deportation push overlooks families like hers because highlighting victims would beg accountability.
“If you recognize the victims, then you have to say, ‘Someone has to be accountable.’ And nobody wants to take accountability for this scourge that’s come across our land and murdered our children, our mothers, our fathers,” she said Tuesday on “Fox & Friends.”
Morin attended the White House’s National Angel Family Day ceremony, where Trump honored families who have lost loved ones in crimes committed by people in the U.S. illegally.
Morin’s daughter, Rachel Morin, a mother of five, was killed by an illegal immigrant in 2023.
She said Trump’s recognition of the “true victims of illegal immigration” was “very, very moving.”
“It was probably one of the saddest things, next to the death of my daughter, that I’ve had to experience — just to see a small piece of the tragedy of all the Americans that have been killed over these last few years.”
During the East Room ceremony, Trump honored families who have lost loved ones to crimes committed by illegal immigrants.
Several family members spoke during the ceremony, sharing personal stories about the departed. At the conclusion of the event, Trump signed a proclamation designating Feb. 22 as “National Angel Family Day.”
ICE ARRESTS CONVICTED PEDOPHILES, VIOLENT ASSAILANTS AS TRUMP MEETS WITH ANGEL FAMILIES
The ceremony also sparked criticism online. CNN was called out by the White House on Monday for failing to provide live coverage of the event.
Deputy Assistant to the President and White House Deputy Communications Director Kaelan Dorr slammed CNN’s lack of coverage as “sick” and “disgusting,” adding, “Mask is off.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X that CNN was a “disgrace” and “doesn’t care about the victims of illegal alien crime.”
A CNN spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “At the time of the White House event, CNN was covering the breaking news around the historic blizzard impacting millions of Americans.”
Morin said elected officials who dismiss immigration enforcement measures are “missing out on the humanity of all of this” in favor of politics.
“They’re looking at American citizens as just casualties. And because they’re not personally and emotionally invested, it doesn’t move them. It’s like they lack empathy.”
Fox News Digital’s Alexander Hall contributed to this report.
