‘Under your leadership, the humanitarian crisis at our Southern border has spilled over into a crime wave impacting public safety for communities all across this nation.’
Senator Ted Cruz
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter cosigned by 21 colleagues today to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, raising concerns about recent crimes committed by illegal aliens that crossed into the United States under President Biden’s open-borders policies. The Senators are demanding answers about the impact of the Biden administration’s negligence on crime in American communities.
Co-signers of the letter are: Sens. Blackburn (R-TN), Boozman (R-AR), Braun (R-IN), Crapo (R-ID), Cotton (R-AR), Daines (R-MT), Graham (R-SC), Hagerty (R-TN), Hoeven (R-ND), Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Inhofe (R-OK), Johnson (R-WI), Kennedy (R-LA), Lankford (R-OK), Lee (R-UT), Lummis (R-WY), Paul (R-KY), Risch (R-ID), Rubio (R-FL), Scott (R-FL), and Young (R-IN).
In the letter, the Senators explain how Secretary Mayorkas’ September 2021 guidance to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has deprioritized removal of dangerous criminal aliens. It points out that the predictable result has been increased rates of illegal crossings and instances of violent crime against American citizens. The letter lays out sixteen examples of tragic crimes—including homicides, rapes, assaults, robberies, and deaths caused by driving under the influence—committed by illegal aliens across the country since 2021.
In the letter, the Senators wrote:
“[Y]ou asserted that there is no bright-line rule, such as past criminal convictions, that officers may use to determine which individuals may pose a public safety threat, and therefore hold priority for enforcement action. This misguided policy deprioritizes the removal of dangerous criminal aliens—individuals who have been convicted of one or more crimes, whether in the United States or abroad, and has resulted in further unnecessary victimization of American citizens.
The result has been predictable: By signaling that you will not enforce immigration laws, you have invited unprecedented increases in illegal border crossings. In 2021, CBP recorded over 2 million migrant encounters. According to CBP arrest data, the agency has arrested 2,424 criminal aliens so far in FY 2022. Although it is only March, this number is just 14 arrests shy of the total number of arrests in all of FY 2020. These individuals have been convicted of murder, rape, assault, robbery, weapons possession, and drug possession among other crimes. Your directive sends the unfortunate message that violating our country’s immigration laws is not a serious crime and will not result in any adverse civil legal actions.
[…]
Under your leadership, the humanitarian crisis at our Southern border has spilled over into a crime wave impacting public safety for communities all across this nation. Strong enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws will act as a deterrent and help prevent additional tragic crimes in the future.
We urge you to reconsider the direction you are leading these agencies in and to immediately rescind your September 2021 guidance.”
Read the full letter here.