A mother whose police officer son was killed in a head-on car collision with an illegal immigrant who was drunk driving down the wrong side of the road has set her sights on President Obama, demanding he explain why Raul Silva-Corona — who had a criminal record — wasn’t deported.
Mary Ann Mendoza penned a letter to Mr. Obama, expressing anger that Silva-Corona was not deported 20 years ago when he was convicted for a couple of crimes in Colorado. That meant he was in the country illegally in May when he drove down the road with a blood alcohol content level of .24 percent and crashed into Sgt. Brandon Mendoza, killing him, she said, The Arizona Republic reported.
“The prosecutors were ’lenient’ on him and several charges were dismissed,” she wrote, the newspaper reported. “When he was convicted of these crimes [in] 1994 and the government knew he was in the country illegally, why wasn’t he deported? Why are any of these illegal criminals in this country?”
She went on to express outrage: “I am furious that the federal government allowed this criminal to stay in this country and KILL my son!”
Ms. Mendoza showed the letter to The Arizona Republic and said her intent was to spark a movement that sheds even more light on the immigration issue.
“I am not going to stop at this letter,” she said, the newspaper reported. “I have to do something in my son’s memory to stop this kind of thing from happening.”
For instance, Ms. Mendoza is trying to get a law passed that would ban illegal immigrants from buying and registering vehicles without a valid driver’s license, and another that would deport any illegals who are convicted of crimes.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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