Leaders in the Senate and the House of Representatives are to expand a probe into the methods being taken by the Obama administration to prevent repeat offenses by undocumented criminal immigrants. Last week an undocumented immigrant who was a member of the MS-13 gang attacked a sheriff’s deputy in Maryland and lawmakers want to know whether he benefited from the deferred action program created by President Obama.
The potential new scandal follows another request for information by Congressional leaders three months ago, back in August, after an undocumented immigrant in New Jersey was charged with murder. There have been a number of cases of violent crimes being committed by undocumented immigrants, the most high profile of which was the murder of Kate Steinle in San Francisco.
Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform spokesperson Ira Mehlman says the cases are a demonstration of a much bigger problem. “Since the Kate Steinle murder, there has been a lot of discussion about sanctuary cities,” Mehlman noted an interview with TheBlaze. “But the biggest sanctuary of all is the DHS prioritization process. If local police arrest and it’s not a sufficient priority for the federal government, [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] tells them to turn him loose.”
Next Tuesday specific questions will be asked about the case of the immigrant ‒ Jose Misael Reyes-Reyes, who was charged over the Maryland deputy assault ‒ by Robert Goodlatte, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Charles Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Mehlman says such immigrants are free due to a narrow definition of what constitutes serious crimes.
