The top House Republican on immigration matters blasted the Obama administration Friday as more reports surfaced of crimes committed by illegal immigrants, insisting more attention be paid to rounding them up.
“How many Americans must die at the hands of unlawful criminal immigrants before the Obama administration takes a serious look at the failure of its own policies?” said Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte, Virginia Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
Recent reports have highlighted slayings with the accused being in the country illegally — including in one situation where the suspect was released under a sanctuary city policy.
The administration says it cannot deport all illegal immigrants and is trying to focus its efforts on serious criminals.
Critics say that in effect means nine out of 10 illegal immigrants have no fear of being kicked out, and it leaves many bad actors in the U.S. where they may commit future crimes.
Mr. Goodlatte and Sen. Charles E. Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, demanded information Friday on what federal immigration officials knew of an illegal immigrant who was convicted of strangling a female co-worker and burning her body. They want to know if immigration authorities had ever encountered but released the man before the horrific crime.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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