A week after the arrest of a , Harford County , murder suspect who had entered the country unlawfully, former President , Donald Trump , attacked President Joe Biden’s immigration policy, saying in a debate Thursday night:” We do n’t have borders anymore”.
The borders between our nation and the world was the safest ever. He decided to open up our borders. Now we have the worst borders in history”, Trump said.
Biden countered during the planned 90- second argument that , Republicans , had an opportunity to suppress border crossings, but did not seize the opportunity.
During conversation of emigration, Trump said he had spoken to the family of a crime victim. A week ago, he called and expressed apologies to the family of , Rachel Morin, the 37- yr- old , Harford County , mother of five killed by a male from , El Salvador. But it was questionable if he was referring to that chat, or a chat with another mother since he therefore cited the killing of a 12- year- older girl in , Texas.
The , CNN , argument was the first of the battle pushing Biden, a Democrat, against the Republican Trump, who is repeatedly seeking the president after losing his election bid to Biden in 2020.
The , Harford County , crime became part , of the national strategy after , Victor Antonio Martinez- Hernandez, a local of , El Salvador, was arrested , June 14 , in , Tulsa, Oklahoma, and extradited next Thursday to , Maryland.
He is charged with raping and murdering Morin, whose body was found past August in a wooded area near the Ma &,  , Pa Heritage Trail , in , Bel Air , and , Forest Hill.
Trump, in battle remarks and at a , Philadelphia , march past Saturday, referenced Morin’s shooting in criticizing what he called Biden’s “open border” plan.
A conservative party, Building America’s Future, posted a new advertising on social media on Wednesday citing the shooting of Morin and the deadly beat in February of , Laken Riley, a , University of Georgia , scholar, on a morning run.  , Jose Ibarra, 26, a migrant from , Venezuela, was charged.
Last Thursday,  , Trump called Morin’s mother , to express his condolences.
Biden’s supporters and Trump had already been harshly criticized for their border policies, which they thought were vulnerable.
Early this year, a bipartisan , Senate , group, including , Oklahoma , Republican , James Lankford and Connecticut , Democrat , Chris Murphy, negotiated legislation intended to reduce the volume of border crossings.  , Republicans , shelved the measure, which would have also tightened asylum requirements, in February and then blocked similar legislation in May after Trump objected.
Gov.  , Wes Moore, who also offered , Patty Morin , condolences, and other , Maryland , Democrats accused , Republicans , of rejecting the measure because it could have aided Biden politically.
According to , Immigration and Customs Enforcement , ( ICE), Martinez- Hernandez tried three times during January and , February 2023 , to enter the country unlawfully, and was turned back each time. ICE said he managed to enter the country near , El Paso, Texas, in the middle of February.
At the time, a Trump- initiated program called Title 42 was still in effect. The program, which Biden lifted in , May 2023, blocked potential border crossers from seeking asylum in the , U. S.  , to prevent the spread of COVID- 19.
Authorities believe Martinez- Hernandez killed a woman in , El Salvador , before coming to the , U. S., according to , Harford County , Sheriff , Jeffrey Gahler.
Gahler, a Republican,  , told reporters last Saturday:  ,” To , 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue , and to every member of both chambers of , Congress: We are 1, 800 miles away from the southern border here in , Harford County , and the American citizens are not safe because of failed immigration policy”.
The sheriff has complained about Democratic policies before, accusing state lawmakers in the Democratic- controlled , General Assembly , in 2023 of favoring “pro- criminal, anti- police” bills.
Harford, a Republican- oriented county, voted for Trump — 54.6 % to 42.6 % — over Biden in 2020,
But Biden handily won the state, 65.4 % to 32.2 %.
©2024 Baltimore Sun. Visit , baltimoresun.com. Distributed by , Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
