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The White House says “no one” will change the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda in response to an appeal by Angel Mom Angie Morfin.
Morfin, whose 13-year-old son, Ruben, was executed by an illegal alien gang member, issued a heartfelt appeal to the administration to “make sure no other mother has to get the call I did.” This comes as incoming Homeland Security head Sen. Markwayne Mullin undergoes the Senate confirmation process and is expected to take the reins at the agency at the end of the month.
Morfin emphasized she is hopeful that Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, “will continue to listen to Angel Families and stand with us.”
In response, Lauren Bis, DHS acting assistant secretary, told Digital that “our hearts break for the families and victims of illegal alien crime who’ve been completely abandoned and ignored by sanctuary politicians.”
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The mother of Ruben Morfin (right), who was executed by an illegal immigrant, asked incoming DHS head Sen. Markwayne Mullin to “make sure no other mother has to get the call I did.” (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Courtesy of The American Border Story)
Bis wrote in an emailed statement that “THIS is why we do what we do.” She noted that DHS is currently “targeting dangerous criminal illegal aliens to stop another preventable tragedy.”
According to Bis, nearly 70% of arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S.
“Under the leadership of President Trump,” Bis continued, “DHS is prioritizing the lives of innocent Americans victimized by illegal aliens.”
Meanwhile, Abigail Jackson, a spokesperson for the White House, told Digital in an emailed statement that “nobody is changing the Administration’s immigration enforcement agenda.”
Jackson said that President Donald Trump’s “highest priority has always been the deportation of illegal alien criminals who endanger American communities.”
She emphasized that “thanks to President Trump’s strong immigration enforcement policies, approximately 3 million illegals have left the United States, either through forced deportation or self-deportation, with zero illegals coming through the most secure border in U.S. History for nine straight months.”
In a recent interview with The American Border Story, shared exclusively with Digital, Morfin said her family remains devastated decades after losing her son, Ruben.
“I cry for him today, like if it was just yesterday,” she shared.
In the winter of 1990, Ruben, a young Hispanic teenager with no gang affiliation, was chased down and shot in the back of the head by Mexican national Ezequiel Mariscal in Salinas, California. Morfin said she had sent Ruben to stay with his grandparents during the holidays over concerns about gangs in their area.
Then one night, just after midnight, Morfin said she got a call.
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Chairman Sen. Rand Paul Kentucky speaks as Sen. Markwayne Mullin, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Homeland Security secretary, testifies before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., March 18, 2026. (REUTERS/Evan Vucci | Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)
“I grabbed the phone, and I could hear my mom screaming, ‘They shot Nino, they shot Nino.’ I knew it was my baby because that’s what we called him, because he was so small,” she said.
Since losing her son, Morfin said she has fought for the last 34 years “to keep his memory alive, so he didn’t die in vain.” She emphasized she is hopeful that Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, “will continue to listen to Angel Families and stand with us as we fight to make sure no other mother has to get the call I did.”
Mullin is currently undergoing an intense Senate confirmation process, during which several Democrats, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., have expressed extreme skepticism about his leadership. Meanwhile, Mullin said in his opening statement that “as Secretary of Homeland, I’ll be protecting everybody … as much as I will my own backyard in Oklahoma.”
“The truth is I have a job to do,” Mullin added. “It’s bigger than the partisan bickering that we have, it’s bigger than the political differences we have.”
In response to Morfin’s appeal ahead of the Senate confirmation vote, Mullin’s Senate office referred Digital to the White House.
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A mugshot of Ruben’s killer, Mexican illegal alien and Posole gang member, Ezequiel Mariscal. (Courtesy of The American Border Story)
Nicole Kiprilov, executive director of The American Border Story, an advocacy group for the victims of migrant crime, told Digital that like DHS, “Our hearts are with Angie Morfin and every Angel Family living with a loss that never should have happened.”
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Kiprilov said “we appreciate DHS’s leadership and their commitment to standing with these families and preventing future tragedies,” noting that “just last week, we worked alongside ICE, DHS, and members of Congress to bring Angel Families to the table, ensuring their voices are heard and their stories drive real policy change.”
“This is exactly the kind of leadership needed to make sure no family is ever ignored again,” said Kiprilov.
